Ghana’s economic growth should more than double to 8-9 percent by 2017, from an estimated 3.9 percent this year, on the back of rising petroleum output, service sector growth and the start-up of a gas processing plant, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said.
Rising petroleum revenues should help reduce the fiscal deficit to 3-4 percent of GDP by 2017 from a provisional 9.3 percent last year, Terkper said.
“Growth is expected to pick up 8-9 percent by 2017 while fiscal deficit should narrow to 3-4 percent,” Terkper said at a meeting of policy directors and donor partners. “This will result in a build-up of reserves to cover 4.2 months of imports.”
Ghana’s oil production will rise to a cumulative total of 242.3 million barrels by 2018 since the start of production in 2010, according to Terkper’s presentation.
The West African country would produce 39.1 million barrels of oil this year and 37 billion cubic feet of gas.
The minister added that the government’s objective was to add value to its energy production by turning gas into power domestically.
Ghana, which also exports cocoa and gold, started commercial crude production from its offshore Jubilee field in late 2010 with plans to bring on stream two more fields by 2018 that will mainly produce gas.
It started a three-year aid programme with the International Monetary Fund last month to tackle the economy, dogged by high deficits, slow growth and widening public debt.
Terkper said the government is seeking to draw on its petroleum resources to settle part of its debts as part of a restructuring strategy that also involves extending maturities.
Ghana’s total public debt stood at 88.2 billion cedis by the end of March, representing 65.3 percent of GDP, a level many development partners consider critical.
Source: reuters.com
