CLAIM: Mr Yofi Grant, CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, has said Ghana’s economy grew at 4.8% in the third quarter of 2022 amidst a global economic slowdown.
VERDICT: FALSE. Data from the Bank of Ghana and Ghana Statistical Service indicate that Ghana’s GDP for the third quarter of 2022 was 2.9% for oil and 3.6% for non-oil.
Full Text
Ghana‘s economy has gone through rough patches in recent years. The communicators for the ruling party, NPP, have blamed it on Covid-19 and the Russia/ Ukraine war.
The opposition National Democratic Party, on the other hand, has attributed the economic struggles and hardships to what they say is the reckless expenditure of the government.
In an interview on The Executive Lounge on JoyNews, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Center, Mr Yofi Grant, said the economy saw some growth amid all the challenges.
Mr Grant stated that the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupted many economies. Ghana had its fair share, although the impact was nothing compared to other robust economies.
“But interestingly, the economy’s still been growing. As at the end of last year’s third quarter, the economy had demonstrated a growth of 4.8%,” he said. See the video from 20:40 to 20:51 on the JoyNews channel on Youtube.
He added that through their activities at GIPC, they expect to bring in quality investment to grow the economy further.
Considering the numerous economic discussions and figures circulated during these discussions, Dubawa decided to investigate Mr Grant’s claim.
Verification
The Ghana Statistical Service uses the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as the major indicator for economic growth. The GDP indicates the performance of the economy. The output approach, the expenditure approach, and the income approach are used to measure the GDP.
According to data from Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana’s economy grew by 2.9% for the third quarter of 2022. This is found in the Newsletter Quarterly December 2022 Edition. Data from Appendix 2 on page 10 of the Newsletter Quarterly reports the total oil and non-oil GDP as 2.9% and 3.6%, respectively. This is for the third quarter of 2022. In the same period for 2021, the total oil and non-oil GDP was 6.5% and 8.2%, respectively.
Also, data from the Bank of Ghana indicate a GDP growth rate of 2.94 for the third quarter of 2022. Like the Ghana Statistical Service, Bank of Ghana indicates a GDP rate of 3.56 for non-oil GDP.
In addition, the researcher found several publications on the GDP rate for the third quarter of 2022. Most of these publications reported the oil GDP of 2.9% as the GDP growth rate for Ghana’s economy for the third quarter of 2022. These publications were mostly dated December 2022. Find several of these publications here, here, here, here and here.
Conclusion
Data from the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Statistical Service indicate that Ghana’s economic growth rate was 2.9% for the third quarter of 2022. Mr Yofi Grant’s 4.8% economic growth rate is false.
