The President of the bank, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, gave the commendation when he paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Flagstaff House last Tuesday.

Mr Adesina, who is on a three-day tour of the country, also congratulated the President on the clarity of his vision.

He said the steps that had been adopted by the President within seven months in office had enhanced the image of the country and its standing with the international financial community.

“I must commend you for the growth that I am beginning to see. The economy is going to grow this year at 6.3 per cent and 7.4 per cent next year. The medium-term outlook is great, about 9.2 per cent. You have always said you want Ghana back and a Ghana beyond aid. This kind of growth trajectory is exactly what is needed for a Ghana beyond aid,” he said to President Akufo-Addo.

Macroeconomic stability

Mr Adesina also commended the government for the effort at stabilising the country’s macro economy, saying that the results had become evident.

“If you look at the inflationary rate, it has gone down to 12.1 per cent. The debt stock in relation to the size of GDP has also gone down to 67 per cent from what you inherited. These are all great signs of your stewardship in the few months that you have taken over.

That is a very good tone,” he emphasised.

Ghana, in recent years, has had to deal with the concessionary arm of the bank, but Mr Adesina observed that with the rapid economic growth that the bank had seen, and with the macroeconomic stabilisation that was prevailing “and your Minister of Finance doing an incredible job, we will work with you to move Ghana towards the commercial window of the bank”.

More AfDB support

Mr Adesina said Ghana and the AfDB had “been in a marriage of development since 1973 and it has been a really great one because during that time we have made investments of US$3.2 billion. We currently have investments of $950 million in different sectors – infrastructure, energy, agriculture and the private sector.  These are areas of importance to you”.

He also expressed his delight at the stability that the Akufo-Addo government had achieved in the energy sector, stressing that “we will continue to be supportive, especially on renewable energy”.

Support for cocoa

Mr Adesina said it was not proper for Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to produce 64 per cent of the world’s cocoa and not make the needed impact in decisions at the level of the world market.

Among others, he said: “We will be looking at building warehouses, so that you can store the cocoa and not have to sell immediately after harvest”.