Economist Dr. Evans Nunoo has questioned the credibility of Ghana’s 2024 National Annual Progress Report, describing it as potentially “an outlier” influenced by the effects of election-year spending.
His remarks follow the launch of the 2024 report by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), which outlined Ghana’s economic progress over the year.
The report highlighted strong GDP growth, a rebound in industrial activity, improved trade performance, and social development gains in education, healthcare, and social protection programmes.
It also underscored the need for enhanced revenue mobilisation, agricultural modernization, and private sector competitiveness to sustain the country’s economic momentum.
However, in an interview on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey on Tuesday, October 14, Dr. Nunoo cautioned that the data presented in the report may not reflect the true state of the economy.
“I’m not too sure if this report is a true reflection of what is happening this year. Also, given the fact that last year is an election year, it’s likely the government might have started several projects for political reasons,” he said.
He explained that the 2024 data may have been distorted by politically motivated projects initiated before the December elections, suggesting that the report may not accurately compare with other years.
“So last year, this report might not be a true reflection of the other previous years and this year. So it could easily be an outlier. But this is talking about 2024,” Dr. Nunoo stated.
The economist further argued that, although Ghana has recently experienced positive trends in inflation and exchange rates, the 2024 report does not capture the current fiscal situation under the new administration.
“This report is not a yes report. That means that if you look at it very well, it doesn’t look like the previous years… The reason why I’m saying that this year’s nature of finances could be different is that we have experienced downward trends in most of the economic variables,” he noted.
He emphasized that while the report’s findings may be valid for 2024, they should be interpreted cautiously within the context of an election year.
“This report, it is not clever. I agree. But what I’m saying is that it could easily be an outlier because it’s a report covering an election period, an election year,” Dr. Nunoo concluded.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
