Business News of Tuesday, 18 July 1995

Source: --

"The 1995 budget expectations look bleak" : Ishmael Yamson

In a speech to the Ghana Employers Association of Ghana (GEA), Mr Ishmael Yamson, Chairman of Unilever Ghana Ltd and President of the GEA, said that the Ghana govt's macro- economic objectives for 1995 to bring down inflation and stabilise the cedi now appear more wishes than real strategic intent backed by demonstrable actions.

For instance, planned growths of 2.4 per cent for the agricultural sector, 3.3 per cent for the industrial sector and 7.0 per cent for the services sector now appear illusory.

Reasons include large money supply, high bank minimum base rate, at 39 per cent, inflation at 49.9 per cent and indications are that the inflationary push will continue compared to govt's objective of 18 per cent.

Mr Yamson, who was expressing his observations on the govt's document - Vision 2020 - said the greatest threat was the potential for continually large budget deficits, high money supply, high inflation, fast depreciating cedi and high interest rates.

Mr Yamson who accompanied the President on his investment tour to the UK, however, spoke in different tones at the CBI conference last Friday. Addressing investors at the conference he said that his company had so much confidence in the Ghanaian economy that everyone should pack his bags and move to invest in Ghana.