By Thomas-Moore ADINGO
Minister of Finance Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has stated that the economy demonstrated remarkable resilience in the first half of 2024, with significant contributions from the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
Although he admitted that much more work needs to be done, Dr. Amin Adam said the economy’s performance in the first six months of 2024 – a growth of 5.8 percent in first-half of the year – significantly outperforms the same period of 2019, before COVID-19.
This, he added, points to a stronger than expected recovery with hopes of even higher growth at full-year (FY) 2024.
In 2023, the economy also surpassed its growth targets with GDP growth at 2.9 percent, compared to a projected 1.5 percent.
The minister was speaking at the 13th AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards in Accra and said industry plays a pivotal role – recording growth rates of 6.8 percent in the first quarter and 9.3 percent in second quarter-2024.
The manufacturing sector, which experienced negative growth in 2023, also grew by 2 percent in the first quarter and 2.8 percent in second quarter-2024.
“This consistency in growth signifies a return to job creation and wealth generation,” Dr. Amin Adam said.
While acknowledging that sustained efforts are needed to ensure long-term growth and tangible development, he noted that government’s efforts to address key challenges affecting the private sector – including reforms in tax collection and enhanced support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – are yielding results.
Reforms in tax collection
The finance minister revealed that following complaints from the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry about harassment by tax collectors, government acted swiftly to address the situation.
“We withdrew all frontline tax collectors and implemented a human-centric approach to tax collection,” he said.
Despite the change in approach, he said the country has consistently exceeded its monthly tax revenue targets.
SMEs
Recognising that the country cannot achieve real growth without a strong small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector, he said, government launched the SME Growth and Opportunity (SME-GO) programme aimed at enhancing access to capital and capacity-building for small businesses.
For instance, he said, SMEs contribute 70 percent of GDP and 85 percent of jobs in the country and that: “No country has achieved growth without the contributions of SMEs”.
Dr. Amin Adam therefore stressed a need for empowering these enterprises to generate internal economic growth rather than relying on external factors.
Muçh more work lies ahead
While the economy has bounced back significantly, the minister admitted there is still more work to be done in sustaining growth and delivering development.
In view of this, Dr. Amin Adam called on the private sector to continue playing a crucial role in accelerating economic progress.
Private sector, state agencies not collaborating enough
Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Alex Dodoo, on his part called for improved collaboration between the private sector and state agencies to create a conductive business environment.
He urged the private sector not to view state agencies as ‘bosses’ but partners in economic development.
“You pay taxes to the state, but we are not working together enough. Without the private sector there is no economy,” he stated.
The 13th AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards was themed: “Navigating the uncertainties of our business landscape to sustain productivity”.
