Press spotlights 2.9% growth in Ghana’s economy in 2023, others

The report of the Ghana Statistical Service that Ghana’s economy experienced a 2.9% growth in 2023, marking a decline from the 3.8% growth seen in 2022 is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that the Ghana Statistical Service revealed on Wednesday that Ghana’s economy experienced a 2.9% growth in 2023, marking a decline from the 3.8% growth seen in 2022.
Highlighting the specifics, the Statistical Service noted that the final quarter of 2023 showcased the highest real GDP growth rate at 3.8%, mirroring the growth rate observed in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Breaking down the figures in nominal terms, the GSS reported that Ghana’s GDP, which includes estimates from the Oil and Gas sector at constant 2013 prices for the fourth quarter of 2023, amounted to GHS50,645.7 million (around 50 billion), in comparison to GHS48,796.8 million (approximately 48 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In terms of sectoral growth, the services sector led with a 5.1% increase, followed closely by the agriculture sector at 4.5%, while the industry sector recorded a GDP growth of 1.6%.
Of particular note, the Statistical Service highlighted that for the first time in roughly 11 years, four out of the 22 sub-sectors (Crops; Trade, Repair of Vehicles and Household Goods; Mining and Quarrying; and Manufacturing) accounted for over 50% of Ghana’s GDP.
The newspaper says that three pre-tertiary education labour unions have declared an industrial strike effective on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, over what they describe as poor conditions of service.
The unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH).
The leadership of the unions made this known in a press conference held at the NAGRAT headquarters in Accra.
The President of GNAT, Reverend Isaac Owusu, who spoke on behalf of the unions explained that the move was a result of the failure of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to address some pressing issues which were affecting teachers’ ability to effectively deliver on their mandates.
He said that the government had failed to renegotiate a Collective Agreement which addressed issues such as allowances for teachers in underserved areas, entertainment allowance, and housing/rent allowance, following the expiration of the existing one in 2023.
He stressed that the document should have been completed on or before February 29, 2024.
“Thus, the new Collective Agreement stands un-negotiated, and we raised this concern in our letter to the Director General, GES, dated February 29, 2024, and also informed the National Labour Commission (NIC),” Rev. Owusu added.
He also attributed the strike action to the inability of the GES to institute a functional Scheme of Service for Teachers which takes care of all requirements the teaching profession needs.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the number of visa applications processed in 2023 from Ghana has nearly doubled from 2022, Hariprasad Viswanathan, Head – Sub Saharan Africa, VFS Global, has said.
He said applications pro¬cessed at the Ghana Passport Premium Application Centres run by VFS Global have seen a 30 per cent rise during the year, underlining the desire to travel overseas by the residents of Ghana.
2023 was the year of a sig¬nificant rise in global outbound travel across the world, including in countries such as Ghana.
Explaining why the demand for visas increased and what applicants need to keep in mind ahead of the current peak travel season, Mr Viswanathan, speaking during a media outreach session in Accra, said “Based on the initial trends, we expect the increase in international travel in 2022 and 2023 to continue this year as well”.
“Outbound travel has rebounded last year to pre-pandemic levels with tourism, family visits, and educational as well as business trips being the common reasons for outbound travel from Ghana. Seeing the surge in demand for outbound travel and with limited appointment slots available, we encourage our applicants to apply for their visas as early as possible like their flight and hotel bookings.”
As a market leader in the outsourced visa and consular services space for governments, he affirmed the company’s commitment to continuously engage in developing innovative solutions to enhance the overall visa application experience.
“Applicants are regularly provided information about visa processing timelines, data protection and privacy assurance, how to detect fraud and the organisation’s value-added services are regularly communicated via key touch points,” he said.
Mr Viswanathan advised ap¬plicants to be sure to carry all the requisite documentation, includ¬ing a printout of the checklist, to submit along with the duly filled application form as well as check the VFS Global website before planning to apply on important requirements, including measures to follow while visiting the Visa Application Centre for submis¬sions.
On premium vehicle registra¬tion and driver licence services, he said, Bridge Direct in collabora¬tion with VFS Global would soon open an ultra-modern centre to provide such services to Ghana¬ians.
The centre, he said, would pro¬vide applicants with a convenient and comfortable environment to submit their vehicle and license applications.
The newspaper says that conducted between April and July 2023 and covered 3,157 micro, small, medium and large-sized companies, including 60 European firms, revealed that majority of the firms surveyed had experienced improvements in their cash flows.
It said the businesses covered under the study recorded a 4.2per cent increase in nominal sales between 2021 and 2022, and local companies trading with European firms recorded an 11 per cent increase in sales.
As part of the launch of the survey, there was a panel discussion and the speakers, Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Enterprises Agency, CEO of Association of Ghana Industries, Seth Twum-Akwaboah, and Charles Kubi, Director of Economics and Business Bureau of Ghana Union of Traders Association, lauded the partners for the survey.
In a presentation on the survey, Mr Anthony Krakah, the Head of Industrial Statistics and Coordinator of Business Census at the GSS, said the current study was the fourth to be conducted since 2020 to study the impact of the coronavirus disease on businesses in the country.
He said the objective was to understand how businesses were recovering from the pandemic amidst new global and local challenges, how trade was faring between local and European firms, and the outlook for firms and how they were navigating the global challenges.
Mr Krakah said the questions for the Ghana Businesses Tracker Wave 4 were expanded to include how firms were adopting digital and green technologies in their operations.
GIK/APA