GHANA ECONOMIC FORUM 2019
WELCOME STATEMENT
BY
DR. ERNEST ADDISON
GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA
OCTOBER 30, 2019
TANG PALACE HOTEL
ACCRA, GHANA
Your Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of
Ghana
Honourable Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance
Honourable Alan Kyeremanteng, Minister of Trade and Industry
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers here present
CEOs and Representatives from the Financial Sector and Business Community
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. Good morning to you all and welcome to the 2019 Ghana Economic Forum. A
few weeks ago I got a call from our senior citizen, Mr. Kwame Pianim, about B&FT
and the Ghana Economic Forum and the need for sponsors for the programme. I
agreed with him to become a strategic policy partner for this event, as the Bank of
Ghana believes that such a forum will provide policymakers, industry experts, and
the business community a platform to deliberate and offer solutions on pertinent
issues affecting our economy. Therefore, before I proceed further, let me commend
the Business and Financial Times (BFT) for their relentless efforts in organising this
event over the past seven years. Also, let me express our appreciation to all the
sponsors who have contributed resources to make this programme a success over
the years.
2. We all acknowledge the busy schedule of our President and therefore deem it a
great honour for His Excellency, the President to be with us this morning and to
deliver the keynote address. Your Excellency, we very much appreciate your
presence and support for this programme.
3. Your Excellency, Distinguish Ladies and Gentlemen, the theme for this year's Ghana
Economic Forum is: "Sustaining Financial and Economic Stability: the key
Priorities". This theme was carefully chosen against the background of
developments in the economy over the last three years. We have achieved a good
degree of macroeconomic stabilisation, under a fiscal and monetary regime oriented
towards disinflation. This framework includes an independent monetary policy
coordinated with a prudently set fiscal framework including strict public expenditure
management.
4. This framework has delivered low inflation and well-anchored inflation expectations
around our medium-term target which serves as the bedrock for private sector
investments, business growth, structural transformation and overall economic
expansion. It is incumbent on us, as policymakers to demonstrate strong
commitment to this policy framework in the near-term to ensure that the gains
achieved so far are sustained. Achieving macroeconomic stability takes deliberate
policies, sacrifices and resources which if not sustained, can easily unravel. I believe
this is one of the reasons why we have gathered here to get a sense of the policy
direction needed to sustain the stable macro environment, going forward.
5. Your Excellency, I can report that under your leadership, the policies that we put
into place in 2017 are yielding the right results. The economic indicators are good in
terms of inflation, external account balances, reserves, GDP growth and business
confidence. We have not only made significant gains in stability through prudent
monetary and fiscal policies but also in regulatory and structural reforms, especially
in the banking sector. This is key to unlocking the financial sector's capacity to
intermediate efficiently with increased access to credit in support of the country's
growth agenda. Indeed, the thrust of current debate is not only about sustainability
but also about scaling up broad-based growth for poverty reduction and increased
employment. What can be done to consolidate the gains we have made and
transition to high and durable growth without putting stability at risk?
6. I will not try to answer these questions but briefly note that sustaining
macroeconomic stability, increasing access to credit, providing good infrastructure,
having strong regulatory frameworks, and most importantly developing a skilled
workforce are all necessary conditions that create the conducive environment for job
creation and inclusive growth. Your Excellency, for us at the Bank of Ghana the
outlook from the monetary policy perspective is to try to understand the nature of
the trade-offs between monetary stabilisation, that is, stabilizing inflation at low
levels - perhaps reviewing our medium-term target to a lower level, and economic
growth.
7. Monetary policy will remain vigilant to deal with inflation pressures should they
emerge. Further, the Bank of Ghana has taken steps to build reserve buffers, to
address potential risks from the external or domestic sectors. Currently, the country's
gross international reserves is estimated at around US$8 billion and expected to
increase with additional inflows from the cocoa syndicated loan. We are also deepening
the foreign exchange market through the introduction of new products to improve
liquidity and ensure stability in the local currency.
8. Mr. President, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, beyond these broad policy
objectives, I believe some of the pertinent issues that should help entrench
macroeconomic stability and allay fears of the investment community and private
sector will be fully addressed during the plenary sessions. These include sustaining
macroeconomic stability through election cycles; infrastructural development to
support the productive sector and trade; digitisation of the economy to enhance
efficiency; scaling up human capital development which is critical for sustainable
growth and development, and last but not least, sustaining financial stability after the
clean-up exercise. I believe that we will have fruitful deliberations from the
distinguished panellists assembled for the various sessions.
Thank you.