Ghanaian economy threatened by 25m population

President John Mahama of Ghana says his country needs annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth above 8 per cent to create jobs for its expanding population.

Mahama, in an interview, was reacting to the country’s forecast GDP growth of about 3.9 per cent in 2015 due to a fall in commodity prices.

Ghana’s economic figures for the second quarter of 2015 will be “much better” than in the first quarter, Mahama said, based on figures he had seen, which are yet to be released.

The cedi currency is seeing “some stabilisation” and is “finding its correct level,” he said.

However, he added that the country would need annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth above 8 per cent to create jobs for its expanding population.

The currency fell about 20 per cent earlier in the year, bounced back strongly in June and early July, but has since given up much of those gains.

It stood at 4.01 to the dollar on Wednesday.

Ghana, with a population of about 25 million, saw GDP growth of about 8 per cent for years, due to exports of cocoa, oil and gold.

But growth has slowed sharply in the last two years and is forecast at about 3.9 per cent in 2015, due to a fall in commodity prices.

The low forecast is also due to a fiscal crisis the government is aiming to resolve with the help of International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid.