The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is asking the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) explain how it arrived at the 6 .9 percent figure as the country ’s estimated growth for this
year . A top official of the GSS confirmed this to Citi Business News. According to the IMF, the figures the Service published just last week were different from
the ones they sent to the Fund .
In an email sent to the Statistical Service, the IMF questioned the methodology they used in arriving at the 6 .9 % annual growth estimates for 2014 and how the net indirect taxes were.computed .
The Ghana Statistical Service is expected to respond soon . The said letter was also copied to the
Controller and Accountant General
Department . The International Monetary fund has projected
the economy will grow at 4 .5 % this year contrary to government ’s estimates of 7 .1 %. The last time the IMF questioned figures from
the Bank of Ghana over the country’s debt to GDP ratio , they backtracked , claiming their
official was looking at projected figures ..Sanjeev Gupta, Deputy Director , Fiscal Affairs
Department for the IMF said at the Fiscal Monitor Report briefing in Washington , that.“ the debt -to- GDP ratio in Ghana is 71%, not
60 %; so it is much higher than you
mentioned. ” This is contrary to the figures the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana
released after examining the health of the economy at the end of June 2014 . Officials from the IMF are expected back in Ghana in November to begin the third round
of talks for a bailout programme.
On October 9 , the team leading Ghana ’s negotiations with the IMF traveled to Washington in the United States to begin the second round of negotiations over an
economic bailout programme.
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