transport, storage and communications ; and financial intermediaries sectors. in 2013 zambia ’ s overall macroeconomic performance was generally buoyant relative to other countries in the region and the world economy in general. real gdp growth was registered at 6. 5 percent in 2013 from 7. 3 percent in 2012. the growth was higher than 4. 9 % and 3. 0 % growth for sub - saharan africa and for the global economy in 2013, respectively. this growth was mainly driven by expansions in the transport, storage and communications ; bis central bankers ’ speeches construction ; community, social and personal services ; financial institutions and insurance as well as manufacturing sectors. in line with the expansion in real gdp, per capita gdp has increased from 332 us dollars in 2000, to 655 us dollars in 2005 and 1, 784 us dollars in 2013. we are, however, alive to the fact that more growth is required in order to have a lasting dent on high poverty levels and even more important, there is need to do more to make growth more inclusive and equitably distributed among the citizens of our country. distinguished participants, to ensure sustainable economic growth, the government has been pursuing appropriate macro - economic policies. to this effect, inflation has declined from the double digits of the early 2000s to single digit levels as recorded in recent years. annual inflation slowed down to 7. 1 % in december 2013 from 7. 3 in december 2012, although it was 1. 1 percentage points above the end - year target of 6 %. this outturn reflected higher non - food inflation which was moderated by lower food inflation. higher non - food inflation was largely due to higher fuel prices, coupled with pass - through effects of the depreciation of the kwacha against the us dollar. during the first four months of 2014 inflation rose to 7. 3 %, 7. 6 %, 7. 7 %, and 7. 8 % in january, february, march, and april, respectively. this was mainly attributed to the seasonal inflationary pressures associated with food prices during this time of the year, as well as pass - through effects of the exchange rate depreciation. distinguished media practitioners, you will also be interested to note that the bank of zambia has been refining its monetary and supervisory tools. the bank recorded a shift in its monetary policy framework in 2012 from the strict use of monetary aggregates to short - term interest rates, to better anchor inflation expectations. to this effect, the bank

millison k narh : monetary policy and outlook for economic growth speech by mr millison k narh, second deputy governor of the bank of ghana, at the databank investor forum, accra, 26 april 2010. * 1. * * introduction distinguished ladies and gentlemen, i would like to thank databank for inviting me to this forum which has brought together institutional investors to apprise themselves of policy initiatives and assess investment opportunities in the country. i understand that databank is celebrating twenty years of entrepreneurship this year. let me take this opportunity to congratulate you on your significant achievements and contributions towards ghana ’ s financial sector over the past two decades and hope that you will expand your activities further in the coming years. my address today will focus on “ monetary policy and outlook for economic growth ”. i will seek to address this topic by focusing on three key issues. that is, the bank of ghana ’ s monetary policy stance, the stabilization role of monetary policy in the ghanaian economy and lastly, the outlook for economic growth in 2010 and beyond. 2. the monetary policy stance of the bank of ghana the primary objective of the bank of ghana is to maintain price stability. the objective of price stability is not an end in itself ; rather it is in the interest of promoting balanced and sustainable growth in the long - term. indeed, the clear focus on price stability as stipulated in the bank of ghana act 612 reflects a consensus from various policy dialogues that “ inflation is a major obstacle to the growth process and price stability can contribute to accelerating growth by promoting an enabling environment for efficient investment and savings decision - making ”. various country experiences, including ghana, show that sustained periods of strong growth have always gone hand in hand with low inflation whereas low growth episodes occur under highly inflationary environments. as you may be aware, the ghanaian economy witnessed consistent growth periods in the recent past with real gdp growth increasing steadily from 3. 7 percent to 7. 3 percent within a spate of nine years. to a large extent this growth phase of the ghanaian economy was largely supported by a policy environment aimed at macroeconomic stability which anchored inflation expectations. this was combined with structural reforms, particularly in the financial sector, needed to increase financial intermediation and promote economic growth. although growth was achieved, the reemergence of macro instability underpinned by both external and domestic factors such as considerable credit expansion to both government and the private sector dislodged inflationary expectations and increased inflationary pressures in