Government committed to building a prosperous and equitable society - Terkper

Accra, March 5, GNA - Mr Seth Terkper, Minister of Finance said on Tuesday that the vision and commitment of government over the medium term is to build a prosperous and equitable society.

He said the vision was anchored on the commitment to put people first, a strong and resilient economy, expanding infrastructure, and transparent and accountable governance.

He said the country had achieved macroeconomic stability and growth on the basis of strong real and external sector performance, including low rates of inflation and the build-up of substantial foreign exchange reserves.

Mr Terkper made these observations when he presented the budget statement to parliament in Accra on the theme: Sustaining Confidence in the Future of the Ghanaian Economy.

He said the country had achieved those goals against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, acting decisively to implement policies that address the challenges that occasionally confronted the nation's forward march.

Mr Terkper indicated that the global economy remained fragile in 2012 following four years of weak and uneven recovery, notably the persistent Euro-zone debt crises and the uncertainty surrounding the fiscal issues in the United States.

He noted that in contrast with the gloomy global picture, Ghana recorded relative economic stability and appreciable growth rates.

'It is anticipated that the economy will achieve a growth rate of between 8.5 and 9.0 per cent at the end of 2012, when the final GDP estimates are updated by end April 2013,' the Sector Minister said.

He said the journey to attain macro-economic stability over the past four years had not always been smooth because the country was still vulnerable to several external and domestic shocks.

'The correction of economic threats is an obligation that we cannot compromise; we need to work harder than ever to consolidate the economic fundamentals that have been built over the years,' he added.

The Finance Minister gave the assurance that with the consolidation of these fundamentals the transition to a middle income country would be easier.

He said the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance will continue to install early-warning mechanisms and programmes to carefully identify and manage all sources of fiscal and monetary risks to the budget and financial framework.

GNA