The Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Abebe Aemro Selassie, has praised Ghana for the significant progress it has made in key areas, especially in expanding access to electricity and improving overall living standards.
In an interview, Mr. Selassie emphasised that these achievements were largely the result of the hard work and commitment of the Ghanaian people and their institutions, rather than the direct outcome of IMF programmes.
“There has been tremendous progress in Ghana. This is not on account of the IMF or its programmes, but what the Ghanaian people, governments, businesses, Parliament and civil society have done. When I look at Ghana’s record, there have been tremendous strengths in the improvement and development outcomes,” he remarked.
He added that Ghana’s continued success would depend on sustaining these collective efforts.
“Indicators like electricity access used to be 30%, 40% 20 years ago, but now it’s closer to 90% or even more. There’s been progress in the quality of life in many cases,” he stated.
However, Mr. Selassie acknowledged that significant challenges still exist, particularly in the areas of job creation and economic stability.
He explained that Ghana has not achieved the same level of progress in creating employment opportunities and continues to face fluctuations in key macroeconomic indicators, with these pressures becoming more pronounced during election periods.
“Where there hasn’t been much progress is job creation and volatility in macroeconomic indicators generally around the electoral cycle,” he noted.
