Ghana’s revised growth rate of 3.2 per cent for 2016 will go down in history as the lowest ever recorded since 1992, Business Finder’s analysis has revealed.

The revision of the country’s growth outlook contained in government’s 2017 -2019 budget preparation guidelines published on the website of the Ministry of Finance was on account of a reduction in targets for oil and gold production.

The communication on the website said, “In 2016, overall GDP is expected to grow by 3.2 percent, while non-oil GDP (excluding oil and gas) is expected to grow by 3.8 per cent.

These developments have taken into consideration the release of revised GDP figures for 2015 (by the GSS); revision of gold production forecasts for 2016-18; and the shut-down of the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.”

Prior to going to press, Business Finder noticed the absence of the information from the Ministry’s website.

This paper’s checks revealed a ‘subtle’ withdrawal of the 126-page document (in PDF) following Bloomberg’s recent publication of a story using its contents.

Ghana’s economy according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has for over two decades experienced a mixed growth pattern.

The country’s economic growth slowed for the fourth consecutive year to an estimated 3.9 per cent in 2015 from 4 per cent in 2014 as energy rationing, high inflation, and ongoing fiscal consolidation weighs on economic activity.