Ghana has the makings of economic development star

Ghana has an opportunity in the coming decades to accelerate economic transformation and create more and better jobs, after navigating through the heights of the pandemic.

That’s according to the World Bank’s latest economic analysis of the country.

“The World Bank believes Ghana has all it takes to continue being an economic development star, if it takes the right steps to nurture growth and job creation,” says Pierre Laporte, World Bank country director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“Ghana faces an acute challenge of generating more and better jobs and has a ‘missing middle’ of employment in mid-productivity sector.

“This is the time for Ghana to fill that ‘missing middle’ by cultivating export-oriented activities in both manufacturing and services and harnessing the transformative potential of trade; it faces an historic opportunity to do so with the Africa Free Trade Continental Area (AfCFTA).”

To achieve this goal the country needs to create jobs, deliver productivity growth and boost innovation, according to the report.

Private sector development is another key component if the country wishes to reach its star status.

“Without reforms, in a ‘business as usual’ scenario, Ghana’s economy is currently projected to reach upper middle-income status by 2037, while under a ‘bright horizons’ scenario, which includes the adoption of some key reforms to drive economic transformation, its economy could reach upper-middle-income status by 2032,” says Elmaleh, World Bank senior economist, and co-author of the report.

“The greatest impact on GDP would be from reforms to raise the productivity of export-oriented global innovator services and manufacturing. This can start now, under the new budget,” he said.

By Staff reporter

Source: freightnews.co.za