2019 economic growth rate figures disappointing – ISSER

The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) has revealed that figures on Ghana’s economy for the first half of 2019 are not encouraging.

According to ISSER, economic growth predictions for the year which were initially placed at 7.6% will therefore not be met.

Dr Charles Ackah, Senior Research Fellow at ISSER presenting the 2019 mid-year review of the economy stated that it is likely the country may miss the projected growth for 2019.

“The provisional data that we have including oil shows that there is a decline from 6.7 per cent to 5.7 per cent between the first two quarters of 2019. So by the first quarter of 2019, the GDP growth was 6.7%. By the end of the second quarter, the economy is already decelerating at 5.7 per cent so with the half-year going we expect that this trend should continue and probably end around 6.2 percent

He added that “the non-oil GDP growth also declined 1.7 percentage points, even more worrying the non-oil GDP growth was going about 6 per cent in the first quarter and that declined to about 4.3 per cent by the end of the second quarter.

“So the half-year real GDP growth of 5.7 per cent is 1.9 percentage point below the budgeted target of the 7.6 per cent. The real GDP growth of 5.7 per cent of the second quarter of 2019 was also lower…than the corresponding figure of 2018.”

Dr Ackah also asked the government to have a re-look at some of its flagship programs like free SHS, NABCO and some ministries which he says are having an impact on spending without necessarily providing the desired results.