Abstract
This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights the emergence of large fiscal and external imbalances since 2012, which has created significant challenges for Ghana. A swift return to macroeconomic stability in 2013 was thwarted by weaker external and domestic conditions. Reflecting lower gold and cocoa exports, the current account deficit exceeded 12 percent of GDP. Although recently revised estimates point to an only moderate slowdown in growth to about 7 percent, the fiscal deficit target of 9 percent of GDP was missed by about 1 percentage point. Ghana’ short-term economic outlook is subject to significant risks, and growth is projected to slow to 4¾ percent in 2014.
Relations With The Fund
(As of March 25, 2014)
Membership Status: Joined: September 20, 1957;
General Resources Account:
| Article VIII | ||
|---|---|---|
| SDR Million | % Quota | |
| Quota | 369.00 | 100.00 |
| Fund holdings of currency (Exchange Rate) | 369.00 | 100.00 |
| Reserve Tranche Position | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Article VIII | ||
|---|---|---|
| SDR Million | % Quota | |
| Quota | 369.00 | 100.00 |
| Fund holdings of currency (Exchange Rate) | 369.00 | 100.00 |
| Reserve Tranche Position | 0.00 | 0.00 |
SDR Department:
| SDR Million | %Allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocation | 353.87 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 235.46 | 66.54 |
| SDR Million | %Allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocation | 353.87 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 235.46 | 66.54 |
Outstanding Purchases and Loans:
| SDR Million | %Quota | |
|---|---|---|
| ECF Arrangements | 437.55 | 118.58 |
| SDR Million | %Quota | |
|---|---|---|
| ECF Arrangements | 437.55 | 118.58 |
Latest Financial Arrangements:
Formerly PRGF.
Projected Payments to Fund2/
(SDR Million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.
Projected Payments to Fund2/
(SDR Million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):
| Forthcoming | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Principal | 18.46 | 42.77 | 46.34 | 53.66 | 77.49 |
| Charges/Interest | 0.11 | 1.15 | 1.04 | 0.92 | 0.74 |
| Total | 18.56 | 43.92 | 47.38 | 54.58 | 78.23 |
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.
Projected Payments to Fund2/
(SDR Million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):
| Forthcoming | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Principal | 18.46 | 42.77 | 46.34 | 53.66 | 77.49 |
| Charges/Interest | 0.11 | 1.15 | 1.04 | 0.92 | 0.74 |
| Total | 18.56 | 43.92 | 47.38 | 54.58 | 78.23 |
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount of such arrears will be shown in this section.
Implementation of HIPC Initiative:
Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence these two amounts cannot be added.
Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.
| Enhanced | |
|---|---|
| I. Commitment of HIPC assistance | Framework |
| Decision point date | Feb 2002 |
| Assistance committed | |
| by all creditors (US$ Million)1/ | 2,186.00 |
| Of which: IMF assistance (US$ million) | 112.10 |
| (SDR equivalent in millions) | 90.05 |
| Completion point date | Jul 2004 |
| II. Disbursement of IMF assistance (SDR Million) | |
| Assistance disbursed to the member | 90.05 |
| Interim assistance | 25.06 |
| Completion point balance | 64.99 |
| Additional disbursement of interest income 2/ | 4.25 |
| Total disbursements | 94.30 |
Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence these two amounts cannot be added.
Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.
| Enhanced | |
|---|---|
| I. Commitment of HIPC assistance | Framework |
| Decision point date | Feb 2002 |
| Assistance committed | |
| by all creditors (US$ Million)1/ | 2,186.00 |
| Of which: IMF assistance (US$ million) | 112.10 |
| (SDR equivalent in millions) | 90.05 |
| Completion point date | Jul 2004 |
| II. Disbursement of IMF assistance (SDR Million) | |
| Assistance disbursed to the member | 90.05 |
| Interim assistance | 25.06 |
| Completion point balance | 64.99 |
| Additional disbursement of interest income 2/ | 4.25 |
| Total disbursements | 94.30 |
Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence these two amounts cannot be added.
Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim period.
Implementation of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI):
The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.
| I. MDRI-eligible debt (SDR Million) 1/ | 265.39 | |||
| Financed by: MDRI Trust | 220.04 | |||
| Remaining HIPC resources | 45.35 | |||
| II. Debt Relief by Facility (SDR Million) | ||||
| Eligible Debt | ||||
| Delivery | ||||
| Date | GRA | PRGT | Total | |
| January 2006 | N/A | 265.39 | 265.39 | |
The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.
| I. MDRI-eligible debt (SDR Million) 1/ | 265.39 | |||
| Financed by: MDRI Trust | 220.04 | |||
| Remaining HIPC resources | 45.35 | |||
| II. Debt Relief by Facility (SDR Million) | ||||
| Eligible Debt | ||||
| Delivery | ||||
| Date | GRA | PRGT | Total | |
| January 2006 | N/A | 265.39 | 265.39 | |
The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of end-2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for such debt relief.
Implementation of Post-Catastrophe Debt Relief (PCDR): Not Applicable
Decision point—point at which the IMF and the World Bank determine whether a country qualifies for assistance under the HIPC Initiative and decide on the amount of assistance to be committed.
Interim assistance—amount disbursed to a country during the period between decision and completion points, up to 20 percent annually and 60 percent in total of the assistance committed at the decision point (or 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively, in exceptional circumstances).
Completion point—point at which a country receives the remaining balance of its assistance committed at the decision point, together with an additional disbursement of interest income as defined in footnote 2 above. The timing of the completion point is linked to the implementation of pre-agreed key structural reforms (i.e., floating completion point).
Safeguards Assessment
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) was subject to an update safeguards assessment with respect to the PRGF arrangement approved on July 15, 2009; the assessment, completed on December 2, 2009, followed an initial safeguards assessment from October 2003. The update assessment found that while the safeguards framework of the BoG had been strengthened in several areas, new risks in governance oversight emerged with the removal of the former Board in January 2009. In March 2010, a new Board was appointed.
Exchange Rate Arrangement
On February 2, 1994, Ghana accepted obligations under Article VIII, Sections 2(a), 3, and 4, of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement. The exchange rate regime is classified as a managed float. Ghana currently maintains two exchange restrictions and a multiple currency practice (MCP) subject to Fund approval. The exchange restrictions arise from (1) the limitation/prohibition on purchasing and transferring foreign exchange for import transactions by importers who have not submitted to the commercial bank customs entry forms for any past foreign exchange transactions related to imports, and which are unrelated to the underlying transaction; and (2) the prohibition for commercial banks to grant foreign currency-denominated loans to non-foreign exchange earners (including importers), which constitutes the withdrawal of previously existing normal, short-term banking and credit facilities. An MCP also arises, because the BOG requires the use of its internal rate (i.e., the previous day’s weighted average interbank exchange rate) for government transactions and the surrender of cocoa and gold foreign exchange proceeds without having a mechanism in place to ensure that, at the time of the transaction, this exchange rate does not differ from the rate prevailing in the market rate (i.e., the interbank exchange rate) and the rates used by banks in their transactions with their customers by more than 2 percent. At the end of March 2013, the average exchange rate for transactions in the interbank market was GHct 2.6885 per U.S. dollar.
Article IV Consultation
The 2013 Article IV consultation discussions were held in Accra during April 2-12, 2013. The staff report (Country Report No. 13/187) was discussed by the Executive Board on June 12, 2013 and is posted on the IMF website.
FSAP Participation
Ghana participated in the FSAP in 2000–01, and a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) was issued to the Executive Board in 2001. An FSAP update was presented to the Board in December 2003 and May 2011.
Technical Assistance
| Subject | Department | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Advise on establishing large taxpayers unit | FAD | 2002/03 |
| Review of public expenditure management reforms | FAD | 2002/03 |
| Tax policy | FAD | May 2003 |
| Fiscal ROSC | FAD | Feb. 2004 |
| Regional advisor on public expenditure management | FAD | 2004/06 |
| Assessment of petroleum pricing mechanism | FAD | Jan. 2005 |
| Public financial management (PFM) | FAD | Mar.-Jun. 2006 |
| Public financial management (PFM) | FAD | Feb. 2010 |
| Enhancing fiscal discipline | FAD | May 2008 |
| Revenue administration | FAD | Jan. 2009 |
| Tax policy | FAD | Apr. 2009 |
| Revenue administration | FAD | Apr. 2009 |
| Mar. 2010 | ||
| Fiscal regime for natural resources | FAD | Jun. 2009 |
| Tax administration | FAD | Mar. 2010 |
| Expenditure Control and Arrears | FAD | Jan. Feb. 2011 |
| Small taxpayer regime | FAD | Feb. 2011 |
| Revenue Administration Strengthening the compliance enforcement and debt management function and program | FAD | March 2013 |
| Accounting and internal audit reform | MFD | Jul.–Nov. 2002 |
| Mar. 2003 | ||
| Foreign exchange market, government securities market, and banking system issues | MFD | Apr. 2003 |
| Joint FSAP follow-up with World Bank | MFD | Jun. 2003 |
| Multitopic technical assistance initiation | MFD | Nov. 2004 |
| Improving monetary operations, banking supervision and payment systems | MFD | Nov. 2004 |
| Medium-term debt management strategy | MCM | Mar. 2008 |
| Banking supervision | MCM | Dec. 2009 |
| Review options for resolution of the weak state-owned banks | MCM | Apr.-May 2011 |
| Problem Bank Resolution | MCM | Mar.-Apr. 2011 |
| Bank supervision and regulations | MCM | […] |
| Joint FSAP follow-up with World Bank | MCM | Mar. 2011 |
| Monetary and Exchange Rate Operations | MCM | Jan.-Feb. 2012 |
| Problem Bank Resolution | MCM | Sep. 2012/Jan. 2013 |
| Macrofinancial Stress Testing and Early Warning System | MCM | Feb. 2013 |
| Joint Financial Stability Review with World Bank | MCM | Apr. 2013 |
| The road to Basel II and bank resolution. | Jul. 2013 | |
| Monetary data reported in SRF | STA | Jun. 2011 |
| Money and banking statistics | STA | Jul. 2002 |
| Jan.-Feb. 2004 | ||
| Apr. 2007 | ||
| Mar. 2008 | ||
| Apr.-May 2009 | ||
| National accounts statistics | STA | Sept./Oct. 2001 |
| Aug.-Dec. 2002 | ||
| Sep. 2003 | ||
| Feb. 2009 | ||
| Sep. 2010 | ||
| Apr. 2011 | ||
| Nov.-Dec. 2011 | ||
| Nov.-Dec. 2013 | ||
| National accounts and prices | STA | Mar. 2004 |
| Oct. 2004 | ||
| Apr.-May 2005 | ||
| Apr.-May 2006 | ||
| Sep. 2006 | ||
| Apr. 2011 | ||
| Government finance statistics | STA | Mar. 2005 |
| May-Jun. 2006 | ||
| May-Jun. 2009 | ||
| Balance of payment statistics | STA | Feb. 2009 |
| Apr.-May 2010 | ||
| Apr. 2011 | ||
| Jun.-Sep. 2012 | ||
| Pilot study of access to private capital markets | ICM | May 2003 |
| Nov. 2004 | ||
| The remittance market | LEG | Apr.-May 2006 |
| Fiscal law: review of tax laws | LEG | Jan. 2011 |
| AML/CFT structures and tools | LEG | Feb-Mar. 2011 |
| Feb. 2012 | ||
| Jan. 2013 |
| Subject | Department | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Advise on establishing large taxpayers unit | FAD | 2002/03 |
| Review of public expenditure management reforms | FAD | 2002/03 |
| Tax policy | FAD | May 2003 |
| Fiscal ROSC | FAD | Feb. 2004 |
| Regional advisor on public expenditure management | FAD | 2004/06 |
| Assessment of petroleum pricing mechanism | FAD | Jan. 2005 |
| Public financial management (PFM) | FAD | Mar.-Jun. 2006 |
| Public financial management (PFM) | FAD | Feb. 2010 |
| Enhancing fiscal discipline | FAD | May 2008 |
| Revenue administration | FAD | Jan. 2009 |
| Tax policy | FAD | Apr. 2009 |
| Revenue administration | FAD | Apr. 2009 |
| Mar. 2010 | ||
| Fiscal regime for natural resources | FAD | Jun. 2009 |
| Tax administration | FAD | Mar. 2010 |
| Expenditure Control and Arrears | FAD | Jan. Feb. 2011 |
| Small taxpayer regime | FAD | Feb. 2011 |
| Revenue Administration Strengthening the compliance enforcement and debt management function and program | FAD | March 2013 |
| Accounting and internal audit reform | MFD | Jul.–Nov. 2002 |
| Mar. 2003 | ||
| Foreign exchange market, government securities market, and banking system issues | MFD | Apr. 2003 |
| Joint FSAP follow-up with World Bank | MFD | Jun. 2003 |
| Multitopic technical assistance initiation | MFD | Nov. 2004 |
| Improving monetary operations, banking supervision and payment systems | MFD | Nov. 2004 |
| Medium-term debt management strategy | MCM | Mar. 2008 |
| Banking supervision | MCM | Dec. 2009 |
| Review options for resolution of the weak state-owned banks | MCM | Apr.-May 2011 |
| Problem Bank Resolution | MCM | Mar.-Apr. 2011 |
| Bank supervision and regulations | MCM | […] |
| Joint FSAP follow-up with World Bank | MCM | Mar. 2011 |
| Monetary and Exchange Rate Operations | MCM | Jan.-Feb. 2012 |
| Problem Bank Resolution | MCM | Sep. 2012/Jan. 2013 |
| Macrofinancial Stress Testing and Early Warning System | MCM | Feb. 2013 |
| Joint Financial Stability Review with World Bank | MCM | Apr. 2013 |
| The road to Basel II and bank resolution. | Jul. 2013 | |
| Monetary data reported in SRF | STA | Jun. 2011 |
| Money and banking statistics | STA | Jul. 2002 |
| Jan.-Feb. 2004 | ||
| Apr. 2007 | ||
| Mar. 2008 | ||
| Apr.-May 2009 | ||
| National accounts statistics | STA | Sept./Oct. 2001 |
| Aug.-Dec. 2002 | ||
| Sep. 2003 | ||
| Feb. 2009 | ||
| Sep. 2010 | ||
| Apr. 2011 | ||
| Nov.-Dec. 2011 | ||
| Nov.-Dec. 2013 | ||
| National accounts and prices | STA | Mar. 2004 |
| Oct. 2004 | ||
| Apr.-May 2005 | ||
| Apr.-May 2006 | ||
| Sep. 2006 | ||
| Apr. 2011 | ||
| Government finance statistics | STA | Mar. 2005 |
| May-Jun. 2006 | ||
| May-Jun. 2009 | ||
| Balance of payment statistics | STA | Feb. 2009 |
| Apr.-May 2010 | ||
| Apr. 2011 | ||
| Jun.-Sep. 2012 | ||
| Pilot study of access to private capital markets | ICM | May 2003 |
| Nov. 2004 | ||
| The remittance market | LEG | Apr.-May 2006 |
| Fiscal law: review of tax laws | LEG | Jan. 2011 |
| AML/CFT structures and tools | LEG | Feb-Mar. 2011 |
| Feb. 2012 | ||
| Jan. 2013 |
Resident Representative
The Fund has had a Resident Representative office in Accra since June 1985. The current resident representative is Mr. Samir Jahjah who assumed the post in October 2012.
Joint World Bank-Imf Work Program, 2013–14
| Title | Products | Provisional timing of mission | Expected delivery date |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mutual information on relevant work programs | |||
| Bank work program in next 12 months | TA on design of the Ghana Infrastructure Fund. | First mission in February, 2014. | December, 2014 |
| TA on governance reform of state-owned enterprises and regulators. | First mission on March 2014. | December, 2014 | |
| Policy Note on implementation of single spine salary structure. | First mission in March, 2014 | June, 2014 | |
| Oil and Gas Capacity Building Project | Ongoing | December, 2016 | |
| E-Ghana (GIFMIS) | May 2014 | To be extended to December 2014 | |
| IMF work program in next 12 months | Article IV Consultation | April 2014 | Board: April 2014 |
| Technical assistance: | |||
| Public Financial Management | February 2012–March 2015 | ||
| Revenue Administration | May 2012–April 2013 | ||
| AML/CFT Structures and Tools for Supervisory Framework | FY 12-13 | ||
| Monetary and Foreign Exchange Operations | June 2014–December 2015 | ||
| Supervisions of foreign Exchange Issues | May, 2014 | ||
| Stress Testing and Capacity Building | July 2014 | ||
| Basel I and II | June, 2014 | ||
| B. Requests for work program inputs | |||
| World Bank request to IMF | Regular update of macroeconomic projections. | Continuous | |
| IMF request to World Bank | Regular update on Bank activities | Continuous | |
| C. Agreement on joint products and missions | |||
| Joint products in next 12 months | Joint Bank-Fund Debt Sustainability Analysis (Update) | April 2003 | May 2013 |
| Title | Products | Provisional timing of mission | Expected delivery date |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mutual information on relevant work programs | |||
| Bank work program in next 12 months | TA on design of the Ghana Infrastructure Fund. | First mission in February, 2014. | December, 2014 |
| TA on governance reform of state-owned enterprises and regulators. | First mission on March 2014. | December, 2014 | |
| Policy Note on implementation of single spine salary structure. | First mission in March, 2014 | June, 2014 | |
| Oil and Gas Capacity Building Project | Ongoing | December, 2016 | |
| E-Ghana (GIFMIS) | May 2014 | To be extended to December 2014 | |
| IMF work program in next 12 months | Article IV Consultation | April 2014 | Board: April 2014 |
| Technical assistance: | |||
| Public Financial Management | February 2012–March 2015 | ||
| Revenue Administration | May 2012–April 2013 | ||
| AML/CFT Structures and Tools for Supervisory Framework | FY 12-13 | ||
| Monetary and Foreign Exchange Operations | June 2014–December 2015 | ||
| Supervisions of foreign Exchange Issues | May, 2014 | ||
| Stress Testing and Capacity Building | July 2014 | ||
| Basel I and II | June, 2014 | ||
| B. Requests for work program inputs | |||
| World Bank request to IMF | Regular update of macroeconomic projections. | Continuous | |
| IMF request to World Bank | Regular update on Bank activities | Continuous | |
| C. Agreement on joint products and missions | |||
| Joint products in next 12 months | Joint Bank-Fund Debt Sustainability Analysis (Update) | April 2003 | May 2013 |
Statistical Issues
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance |
| General: Data provision has some shortcomings, but is broadly adequate for standard surveillance. The quality and timeliness of certain data need to be improved. To monitor vulnerabilities, effective surveillance warrants a more timely provision of critical high-frequency data. There are notable deficiencies in the dissemination of statistical information to the public, although the situation has improved with the recurrent publication on the Bank of Ghana’s (BOG) website of the Monetary Policy Committee Statement, Statistical Releases, and economic and financial reports since 2003. |
| National Accounts: Ghana compiles annual and quarterly estimates of GDP by economic activities at current and constant (2006) prices following the System of National Accounts 1993 regularly. Incorporation of latest/updated data sources, changes in conceptual treatment/methodologies and rebasing of national accounts to 2006 led to a significant upward revision of the estimates of GDP published in November 2010. In addition, Ghana Statistical Service recently published annual GDP by expenditure estimates at current and constant (2006) prices for the years 2006-12. Private consumption expenditure which was estimated as a residual in the old series, has been calculated directly in the rebased series. Ghana is one of the countries participating in the Quarterly National Accounts Module of the Enhanced Data Dissemination Initiative (EDDI) supported by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). Four missions have been conducted (September 2010, April 2011, November/December 2011, and February 2013) under this project. The February 2013 mission worked towards further improving the methodology of the current and constant price QGDP estimates by economic activity. In addition, the methodology for each component of the published annual expenditure estimates was scrutinized and a preliminary methodology for expanding these to quarterly was developed. The constant price methodology has been improved by introducing forestry stock changes and extending the range of indicators for measuring cocoa production, hotels, and air transportation. It is expected that estimates of QGDP by expenditure will be compiled by mid-2014. |
| Labor statistics: The scarcity of labor statistics is a cause for concern. Labor statistics are almost nonexistent, although some wage indicators are available from the Social Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). The Ministry of Employment has been receiving technical assistance from the United Nations Development Program and the International Labor Organization in the design and compilation of labor statistics. |
| Government finance statistics: Steps have been taken to improve fiscal data. The Controller Accountant General Department (CAGD) currently compiles monthly budget implementation reports, and the data are available within six weeks, although some factors undermine their reliability. There is a need for comprehensive and timely reconciliation of monthly treasury data with bank accounts. To address these shortcomings, the government has formed a committee to define the nature of “broad” and “narrow” government; moved to a system of immediate booking for “direct debits” and more frequent reporting of government account balances; and is implementing a new automated Budget and Public Expenditure Management System (BPEMS). The BPEMS covers ministries, departments, and agencies. Several GFS missions worked with the authorities to improve the economic classification of data in accordance with the requirements of GFSM 2001. In 2009, an STA mission also provided guidance on the compilation of a partial financial balance sheet for budgetary central government, and proposed that information on debt stocks that is available on a monthly basis be reported for the inclusion in the International Financial Statistics (IFS). The coverage of transactions is uneven. There are also difficulties in accounting for expenses paid by extrabudgetary funds. The operations of special funds, such as the SSNIT (currently regarded as a public financial corporation by the authorities), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETF) and the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), are not yet covered in the fiscal accounts. Although the majority of local government expenses are directly met from budgetary accounts, the revenue of local governments and related spending, and transactions financed from the DACF are not yet covered. Extending the coverage of fiscal data to general government is strongly encouraged. Comprehensive solutions to some of the data problems may have to await full implementation of the BPEMS system and incorporation of Fund technical advice. Various missions from FAD have suggested short-term temporary solutions to alleviate current data quality problems. |
| Monetary and financial statistics: While BOG has made significant progress on implementing the previous missions’ recommendations on monetary and financial statistics, continued efforts are needed to expand the institutional coverage and improve the timeliness of the data reporting. The June 2011 monetary and financial statistics mission assisted in improving the data mapping for compiling the standardized report forms (SRFs) for central bank (SRF 1SR) and other depository corporations (ODCs) (SRF 2SR). BOG has used the updated mapping to compile and report SFR 1SR, SRF 2SR, and SRF 5SR for monetary aggregates for publication in the IMF’s International Financial Statistics (IFS). As a result, the data quality has improved. However, data have not been reported regularly and the timeliness has worsened. Data through October 2012 were published in the April 2013 issue of IFS—a lag of more than six months. The mission also assisted in mapping the statistical returns for other financial institutions to SRFs with a view to expanding the data coverage. However, no further progress has been made on including these other financial institutions in the coverage of monetary statistics. |
| Debt statistics: The responsibility for external debt recording and payment is divided among three agencies. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), through its Aid and Debt Management Unit (ADMU), maintains the external debt database. It is responsible for recording debt payment obligations, issuing payment requests, and tracking HIPC debt relief. The CAGD confirms the legality of the payment and authorizes the release of public funds. It is responsible for accounting for debt payments and rendering reports to parliament. The BOG as the payment agent for the government verifies payments made to ADMU and CAGD. To enable systematic comparison of the budget, the balance of payments and the BOG cash-flow data, the authorities should clearly identify the government subsectors for which data are reported and prepare a clear classification of financing, outstanding debt, and guarantees issued. |
| External sector Statistics: The Balance of Payments Office (BPO) of the Research Department of the BOG is responsible for the compilation and dissemination of balance of payments and International Investment Position (IIP) data for Ghana. Ghana participates in the external sector module of EDDI and has benefited extensively from technical assistance in developing and undertaking enterprise surveys of cross-border financial flows and stocks (Foreign Assets and Liabilities Survey (FALS)), with a view to improve the quality of balance of payments statistics and IIP statistics. A major achievement was the submission of an IIP to the Fund’s Statistics Department (STA) during 2011 for the period 2006 through 2009 and the data were subsequently published in the March 2011 International Financial Statistics (IFS). However, there are still some challenges to overcome with respect to the timeliness of the data. Next steps are, therefore, the implementation of a small timely sample quarterly survey of cross-border capital to overcome the timeliness and quarterly estimates challenges. Despite the progress achieved in improving the data sources and compilation techniques, substantial work is still needed to strengthen existing, and develop new data sources to improve the accuracy and reliability of the current and capital, and financial account. The missions urged the BPO to work towards closing major remaining data gaps by making the International Transactions Reporting System (ITRS) a reliable data source to the extent possible, and use it at its full potential and as a cost-efficient way to receive information for the current, capital, and financial account. ITRS reporting is being revised to ensure that it serves as: (i) a broad indicator of BOP current, capital, and financial account transactions; and (ii) a data source for transactions of which direct reporting is not feasible. Trade statistics: Currently, the GSS is not publishing timely monthly trade statistics, although the data are available from the Customs, Excise, and Preventive Service (CEPS). The staff has recommended that the GSS collaborate with the CEPS to process customs data within six weeks and with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOT) and the BOG to identify and reduce discrepancies in trade statistics and to ensure that imports into bonded warehouses are not double-counted. Data collection procedures of the CEPS need to be improved, and there is also room for improving trade volume data collected by the CEPS through customs invoices, which would help the GSS to extract meaningful import and export unit values. The May 2010 STA mission found that BPO treats goods that are temporarily imported into Ghana without passing the customs authorities (i.e. not yet captured by customs) and then sold to enterprises in the free zone as exports. This treatment would imply that free trade zones are treated as located outside the Ghanaian economic territory, which should not be the case. Fund staff has recommended that the GSS produce export unit values for major export commodities, such as gold and cocoa. A high coverage of the country’s export bundle can be obtained from just three major exports—cocoa, gold, and unwrought aluminum. In contrast, deflation of imports is likely to require an iterative procedure to strike a balance between coverage of the index and its stability, owing to the heterogeneity of the basket. |
| II. Data Standards and Quality |
| Participant in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since July 20, 2005. |
| III. Reporting to STA (Optional) |
| STA found some major issues in the March 2010 data for the Central Bank and the February 2010 data for the ODCs that the authorities submitted in April 2010 for publication in the IFS. For this reason, STA thoroughly reviewed the entire mapping of source data to the SRFs and several misclassifications were fixed. As a result, the updating of the IFS page for Ghana was resumed in March 2011 after a long delay. The latest data published in the IFS are for December 2010. Data for publication in the IFS on international transactions were last reported for 2009, quarterly government finances for March 2010, and national accounts for 1997. No quarterly balance of payments data are currently reported for publication in the IFS. The latest available data reported for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook (GFSY) are for 2009. However, these data cover only the cash revenue and expense transactions of the budgetary central government. |
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance |
| General: Data provision has some shortcomings, but is broadly adequate for standard surveillance. The quality and timeliness of certain data need to be improved. To monitor vulnerabilities, effective surveillance warrants a more timely provision of critical high-frequency data. There are notable deficiencies in the dissemination of statistical information to the public, although the situation has improved with the recurrent publication on the Bank of Ghana’s (BOG) website of the Monetary Policy Committee Statement, Statistical Releases, and economic and financial reports since 2003. |
| National Accounts: Ghana compiles annual and quarterly estimates of GDP by economic activities at current and constant (2006) prices following the System of National Accounts 1993 regularly. Incorporation of latest/updated data sources, changes in conceptual treatment/methodologies and rebasing of national accounts to 2006 led to a significant upward revision of the estimates of GDP published in November 2010. In addition, Ghana Statistical Service recently published annual GDP by expenditure estimates at current and constant (2006) prices for the years 2006-12. Private consumption expenditure which was estimated as a residual in the old series, has been calculated directly in the rebased series. Ghana is one of the countries participating in the Quarterly National Accounts Module of the Enhanced Data Dissemination Initiative (EDDI) supported by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). Four missions have been conducted (September 2010, April 2011, November/December 2011, and February 2013) under this project. The February 2013 mission worked towards further improving the methodology of the current and constant price QGDP estimates by economic activity. In addition, the methodology for each component of the published annual expenditure estimates was scrutinized and a preliminary methodology for expanding these to quarterly was developed. The constant price methodology has been improved by introducing forestry stock changes and extending the range of indicators for measuring cocoa production, hotels, and air transportation. It is expected that estimates of QGDP by expenditure will be compiled by mid-2014. |
| Labor statistics: The scarcity of labor statistics is a cause for concern. Labor statistics are almost nonexistent, although some wage indicators are available from the Social Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). The Ministry of Employment has been receiving technical assistance from the United Nations Development Program and the International Labor Organization in the design and compilation of labor statistics. |
| Government finance statistics: Steps have been taken to improve fiscal data. The Controller Accountant General Department (CAGD) currently compiles monthly budget implementation reports, and the data are available within six weeks, although some factors undermine their reliability. There is a need for comprehensive and timely reconciliation of monthly treasury data with bank accounts. To address these shortcomings, the government has formed a committee to define the nature of “broad” and “narrow” government; moved to a system of immediate booking for “direct debits” and more frequent reporting of government account balances; and is implementing a new automated Budget and Public Expenditure Management System (BPEMS). The BPEMS covers ministries, departments, and agencies. Several GFS missions worked with the authorities to improve the economic classification of data in accordance with the requirements of GFSM 2001. In 2009, an STA mission also provided guidance on the compilation of a partial financial balance sheet for budgetary central government, and proposed that information on debt stocks that is available on a monthly basis be reported for the inclusion in the International Financial Statistics (IFS). The coverage of transactions is uneven. There are also difficulties in accounting for expenses paid by extrabudgetary funds. The operations of special funds, such as the SSNIT (currently regarded as a public financial corporation by the authorities), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETF) and the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), are not yet covered in the fiscal accounts. Although the majority of local government expenses are directly met from budgetary accounts, the revenue of local governments and related spending, and transactions financed from the DACF are not yet covered. Extending the coverage of fiscal data to general government is strongly encouraged. Comprehensive solutions to some of the data problems may have to await full implementation of the BPEMS system and incorporation of Fund technical advice. Various missions from FAD have suggested short-term temporary solutions to alleviate current data quality problems. |
| Monetary and financial statistics: While BOG has made significant progress on implementing the previous missions’ recommendations on monetary and financial statistics, continued efforts are needed to expand the institutional coverage and improve the timeliness of the data reporting. The June 2011 monetary and financial statistics mission assisted in improving the data mapping for compiling the standardized report forms (SRFs) for central bank (SRF 1SR) and other depository corporations (ODCs) (SRF 2SR). BOG has used the updated mapping to compile and report SFR 1SR, SRF 2SR, and SRF 5SR for monetary aggregates for publication in the IMF’s International Financial Statistics (IFS). As a result, the data quality has improved. However, data have not been reported regularly and the timeliness has worsened. Data through October 2012 were published in the April 2013 issue of IFS—a lag of more than six months. The mission also assisted in mapping the statistical returns for other financial institutions to SRFs with a view to expanding the data coverage. However, no further progress has been made on including these other financial institutions in the coverage of monetary statistics. |
| Debt statistics: The responsibility for external debt recording and payment is divided among three agencies. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), through its Aid and Debt Management Unit (ADMU), maintains the external debt database. It is responsible for recording debt payment obligations, issuing payment requests, and tracking HIPC debt relief. The CAGD confirms the legality of the payment and authorizes the release of public funds. It is responsible for accounting for debt payments and rendering reports to parliament. The BOG as the payment agent for the government verifies payments made to ADMU and CAGD. To enable systematic comparison of the budget, the balance of payments and the BOG cash-flow data, the authorities should clearly identify the government subsectors for which data are reported and prepare a clear classification of financing, outstanding debt, and guarantees issued. |
| External sector Statistics: The Balance of Payments Office (BPO) of the Research Department of the BOG is responsible for the compilation and dissemination of balance of payments and International Investment Position (IIP) data for Ghana. Ghana participates in the external sector module of EDDI and has benefited extensively from technical assistance in developing and undertaking enterprise surveys of cross-border financial flows and stocks (Foreign Assets and Liabilities Survey (FALS)), with a view to improve the quality of balance of payments statistics and IIP statistics. A major achievement was the submission of an IIP to the Fund’s Statistics Department (STA) during 2011 for the period 2006 through 2009 and the data were subsequently published in the March 2011 International Financial Statistics (IFS). However, there are still some challenges to overcome with respect to the timeliness of the data. Next steps are, therefore, the implementation of a small timely sample quarterly survey of cross-border capital to overcome the timeliness and quarterly estimates challenges. Despite the progress achieved in improving the data sources and compilation techniques, substantial work is still needed to strengthen existing, and develop new data sources to improve the accuracy and reliability of the current and capital, and financial account. The missions urged the BPO to work towards closing major remaining data gaps by making the International Transactions Reporting System (ITRS) a reliable data source to the extent possible, and use it at its full potential and as a cost-efficient way to receive information for the current, capital, and financial account. ITRS reporting is being revised to ensure that it serves as: (i) a broad indicator of BOP current, capital, and financial account transactions; and (ii) a data source for transactions of which direct reporting is not feasible. Trade statistics: Currently, the GSS is not publishing timely monthly trade statistics, although the data are available from the Customs, Excise, and Preventive Service (CEPS). The staff has recommended that the GSS collaborate with the CEPS to process customs data within six weeks and with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOT) and the BOG to identify and reduce discrepancies in trade statistics and to ensure that imports into bonded warehouses are not double-counted. Data collection procedures of the CEPS need to be improved, and there is also room for improving trade volume data collected by the CEPS through customs invoices, which would help the GSS to extract meaningful import and export unit values. The May 2010 STA mission found that BPO treats goods that are temporarily imported into Ghana without passing the customs authorities (i.e. not yet captured by customs) and then sold to enterprises in the free zone as exports. This treatment would imply that free trade zones are treated as located outside the Ghanaian economic territory, which should not be the case. Fund staff has recommended that the GSS produce export unit values for major export commodities, such as gold and cocoa. A high coverage of the country’s export bundle can be obtained from just three major exports—cocoa, gold, and unwrought aluminum. In contrast, deflation of imports is likely to require an iterative procedure to strike a balance between coverage of the index and its stability, owing to the heterogeneity of the basket. |
| II. Data Standards and Quality |
| Participant in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since July 20, 2005. |
| III. Reporting to STA (Optional) |
| STA found some major issues in the March 2010 data for the Central Bank and the February 2010 data for the ODCs that the authorities submitted in April 2010 for publication in the IFS. For this reason, STA thoroughly reviewed the entire mapping of source data to the SRFs and several misclassifications were fixed. As a result, the updating of the IFS page for Ghana was resumed in March 2011 after a long delay. The latest data published in the IFS are for December 2010. Data for publication in the IFS on international transactions were last reported for 2009, quarterly government finances for March 2010, and national accounts for 1997. No quarterly balance of payments data are currently reported for publication in the IFS. The latest available data reported for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook (GFSY) are for 2009. However, these data cover only the cash revenue and expense transactions of the budgetary central government. |
Ghana: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of March, 2014)
includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extrabudgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Daily (D); Weekly (W); Monthly (M); Quarterly (Q); Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA).
Includes external gross financial assets and liability positions vis-à-vis non residents.
Ghana: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of March, 2014)
| Date of latest observation | Date received | Frequency of Data6 | Frequency of Reporting6 | Frequency of Publication6 | |
| Exchange Rates | Feb 2014 | Feb 2014 | D | M | NA |
| International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities1 | Feb 2014 | Feb 2014 | M | M | Q |
| Reserve/Base Money | Feb 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Broad Money | Feb 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | Feb 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | Jan 2014 | Mar 2014 | M | M | I |
| Interest Rates2 | Feb 2013 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Consumer Price Index | Mar 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3 – general government4 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3 – central government | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | M | M | I |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt5 | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | M | Q | I |
| External Current Account Balance | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | Q | Q | Q |
| GDP/GNP | 2013 | Feb 2014 | Q/A | Q/A | Q/A |
| Gross External Debt | Dec 2014 | Feb 2014 | M | I | A |
| International Investment Position7 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extrabudgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Daily (D); Weekly (W); Monthly (M); Quarterly (Q); Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA).
Includes external gross financial assets and liability positions vis-à-vis non residents.
Ghana: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of March, 2014)
| Date of latest observation | Date received | Frequency of Data6 | Frequency of Reporting6 | Frequency of Publication6 | |
| Exchange Rates | Feb 2014 | Feb 2014 | D | M | NA |
| International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities1 | Feb 2014 | Feb 2014 | M | M | Q |
| Reserve/Base Money | Feb 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Broad Money | Feb 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | Feb 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | Jan 2014 | Mar 2014 | M | M | I |
| Interest Rates2 | Feb 2013 | Apr 2014 | M | M | I |
| Consumer Price Index | Mar 2014 | Apr 2014 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3 – general government4 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3 – central government | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | M | M | I |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt5 | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | M | Q | I |
| External Current Account Balance | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | Dec 2013 | Feb 2014 | Q | Q | Q |
| GDP/GNP | 2013 | Feb 2014 | Q/A | Q/A | Q/A |
| Gross External Debt | Dec 2014 | Feb 2014 | M | I | A |
| International Investment Position7 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extrabudgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Daily (D); Weekly (W); Monthly (M); Quarterly (Q); Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA).
Includes external gross financial assets and liability positions vis-à-vis non residents.