Ghana risks losing huge investments – Former World Bank Vice President

A former senior vice president at the World Bank, Professor Yifu Lin, has warned that Ghana risks losing out on huge investments if it fails to embark on drastic economic reforms.

Ghana recently dropped 12 places in the latest World Bank ease of Doing Business report. Prof Lin believes such reforms could attract the relocation of light manufacturing firms from emerging economies.

Speaking to Starr Business on the sidelines of a Lecture organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs in Accra, he said: “What is important for investors is not necessary for the whole nation. What investors care about is what kind of condition they have in the places that they operate.”

Prof Lin’s warning comes at the back of declaration by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta that the Akufo-Addo led government has turned around the economy in the last 10 months.

Reading the 2018 budget and policy statement last week, he announced that the country is on course to end the year with the fiscal deficit of 6.3 percent from 9.4 percent.

He further noted that overall real GDP grew by 7.8 percent as of June against 2.7 percent in same period 2016. It is estimated to grow by 7.9 percent at end of 2017, up from the original forecast of 6.3 percent with Non-Oil real GDP growing at an estimated 4.0 percent as of June 2017 compared to 5.9 percent in the same period in 2016. Non-oil GDP growth is estimated at 4.8 percent at the end of 2017.