The central bank attributes the decline to tight monetary policy, fiscal consolidation and improved food supply.
With inflation now comfortably within the target band, attention has turned to reducing lending rates to support business expansion. Governor Johnson Asiama reaffirmed his commitment to driving borrowing costs lower before the end of his tenure.
“I said that by the end of my tenure, I would want to see lending rates at 10%. I still stand by it,” he told journalists.
“If you look at the data, you are seeing movement from around 32% down to 21% currently. Some banks are even lending below their reference rate already. As Treasury bill rates continue to trend down, banks will have no choice but to do aggressive lending.”
Asiama said growth momentum is strengthening, supported by improving confidence surveys, and the Bank expects economic activity to continue recovering. However, significant risks remain, particularly Ghana’s susceptibility to global commodity price fluctuations.
“As a commodity-exporting country, we are always exposed to external shocks,” Asiama said.
“We export oil, cocoa and gold largely as primary products. If the Dollar strengthens for any reason, even for factors unrelated to Ghana, it has a very significant impact on us.”
He emphasised the need for deeper structural reforms to reduce these vulnerabilities, including more domestic processing and value addition.
“We are doing our part by building adequate reserves, but I want to see more structural programmes. More refining of gold, more processing of oil, and more value addition to cocoa, even processing outside Ghana to capture more global value.”
Asiama indicated that these priorities will be pursued aggressively in partnership with the Finance Ministry.
Asiama also addressed public debate surrounding the Bank’s reserve operations and the role of the GoldBod, dismissing claims that the central bank is financing the entity.
“GoldBod is just the old Precious Mineral Marketing Company. They provide a service for us,” he said.
“We ask them to purchase gold, which is exported, and we receive the United States Dollars. We take money from commercial banks and pass it on to the Board to acquire dore gold. The FX is then received and intermediated. We are under an International Monetary Fund programme with a zero-financing condition, and we have adhered strictly; there have been no violations.”
He said misconceptions would not distract from the Bank’s broader objective of stabilising the economy while boosting productive sector growth.
–ChannelAfrica–
