Economic Recovery: KPMG predicts doubling of Ghanas growth rate in 2024 | Market Place - video Dailymotion

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00:00 Hi, good afternoon. Welcome to the marketplace coming up auditing an accounting firm KPMG predicts doubling of Ghana's GDP growth in

00:07 2024 will have more from its 2024 pre-budget survey

00:11 Also coming up Ghana along with other West African countries to experience shortage of a custom bus train of tilapia for close to a year

00:23 following floods caused by dam spillage

00:27 So of them let me put it that way majority of them had been lost to the flood so

00:30 Fingerling production within the next year would be affected

00:35 Nigeria

00:37 Cameroon

00:38 Togo, Benin depends upon this sector a center

00:42 To tell you how the food research institute is helping tackle post harvest losses by involving the youth

00:48 There are so many crops that are going with that tells you that there's a high post harvest losses

00:56 That we experiencing in Ghana for the crops that we have in Ghana

01:00 So this value addition this processing is going to add value to those crops

01:06 Thanks for joining us everyone details coming up

01:10 You

01:39 Now audits an accounting firm KPMG is predicting a doubling of Ghana's ghost domestic product growth in

01:45 2024 the forecast it says is based on some expected foreign inflows which are likely to stabilize the local currency and spare private sector

01:53 growth

01:55 KPMG in his 2024 pre-budget survey said Ghana's growth rate will return to pre-covid 19 levels a

02:01 Partner for deal advisory at KPMG Evans. Sorry joins me on zoom to discuss this some more good afternoon to you

02:08 so given the challenging global economic conditions and the IMF's projection for Southern Africa how

02:14 Optimistic is KPMG about Ghana's economic recovery in 2024?

02:19 Hi, good afternoon, I hope you can hear me loud and clear

02:24 Thank you. Thank you so much and good afternoon to your listeners and viewers

02:28 So based on the pre-budget survey that we did that we surveyed over

02:33 2033 businesses across the country that business confidence is building back

02:38 Okay better if I may add that one as well and we expect that growth recovery would be seen sometime in

02:46 2023, you know, they

02:48 Media budgets revised our real GDP growth to about 1.5 percent

02:54 okay, and then the IMF is also predicting about 1.2 percent for 2023, but based on the

03:02 Real GDP growth recorded for the first and second quarters of this year. They are averaging 3%

03:07 It is our view that if this growth track

03:10 Continues we would probably be seen a real GDP of about 3% which is double the 1.5 that we are targeting

03:19 If you look at the IMF projection also for 2024

03:22 they are looking about 2.8 percent or being you know sped by the

03:27 Stability we are seeing now on the IMF

03:30 Inflow that is coming in and then some other structural adjustments that we are making as a country

03:36 This would all spread the growth that we expect in 2023 and 2024

03:41 Okay, in your pre-budget survey. You've also been speaking to businesses about

03:46 The government's tax policies. So what what are the expectations of the business community?

03:52 So business community

03:56 Expects the government to have a look at some critical tax handles

03:59 Okay, the first one being the e-levy and then the COVID-19 levy

04:04 If you look at the media budgets revised target for some of these revenue handles

04:11 So the e-levy for instance, we initially were projecting about 2.2 billion from the 2023 budget

04:18 But mid-year it was revised to about 1.2 billion

04:22 Which means that there are some kind of uncertainties around how government will be able to achieve that target

04:28 So businesses are of the view that look

04:30 The

04:39 Reduced from the current 1% to a level that would ensure compliance

04:44 The other tax handle is a COVID-19 levy where over 60% were of the view that COVID

04:52 You know is gone

04:53 But of course one would argue that the effect or the impact of COVID is still around but the experts government to still take a look

05:00 At COVID-19 levy and see whether it is time for that tax also to go

05:04 and so these and then other taxes including the petroleum levies at all the other taxes that

05:09 Businesses way of the view that 2024 budget should address some of these taxes

05:15 We use the rate so that compliance can be enhanced and then you get a wider, you know

05:20 participation in the payments of these taxes and based on their responses how negatively have they been impacted by

05:27 government's tax policies in the 2023 budget

05:30 So

05:33 Businesses were the view that for instance those that are using in your online payment system, you know and platforms

05:40 Is discouraging consumers spending? Okay, so consumers are not really using that platform to do purchases. So

05:48 The they probably see if you look at the metrics we measured was

05:53 consumers

05:56 pending and

05:58 businesses over 40% of them think that

06:00 Consumers spending has declined and it could be a number of factors including the economic factors the macroeconomic environment

06:06 They dispose of all income levels that have gone down

06:08 So these they also think that especially those who are using online platform believe that if we look at the e-levy

06:16 Asset tax and then reduce the rate people will start using those platform as payment

06:21 You know platforms and then the corporate 19 levy of 1% I mean

06:27 businesses believe

06:30 That

06:31 It is time for government to take a look at it again because in any case business are struggling to drop

06:41 And revenues, okay, just have materials and then they look out, you know inflation that we also experience

06:48 It which is also impacting the cost of local raw materials. So businesses have a double impact

06:53 Okay on their cost and therefore what they generate as profits is quite low. So

06:58 Taxing those level of profit is also impacting them and they believe that it is time for government to

07:03 Take a look at these taxes and see how best they can alleviate the difficulties that businesses are going through

07:10 And what would you recommend the government does because they are faced with a situation of having to raise revenue

07:16 But then they have to think of whether to abolish some taxes or you know, lower some taxes

07:20 So

07:23 The we look at two sides. So not only revenue. We also have to look at the expenditure side

07:29 Okay, because these are two different, you know sites that we have to do that

07:32 So you look at it top line look at the bottom line

07:34 So, um, even though government is caught in a fix, we know that there is already a deficit of 6.4% from the mid-year budget

07:42 So government has to fill that gap then businesses are saying that can we also look at expenditure?

07:48 Especially revising the free SHS and see how best we can let

07:53 Parents who are capable to finance their children education in their secondary schools come in

07:59 To support

08:03 this instead of doing a proposing setting expenditure items for government to look at and

08:09 critical amongst them is the free SHS where they believe that government should not be the sole fire and I'll see and

08:16 Therefore parents may have to come in to support this. So some revenue can be released or some, you know, other

08:24 Monies can be made available for other, you know, financing other government expenditure items. So

08:32 Expenditure is one area that businesses are also insisting that government should take a look at in the next year's budget

08:37 Yeah, I mean you brought up free SHS and a couple of weeks ago

08:42 We reported that the government was working to rationalize some of these

08:45 Some of these social intervention programs and like you point out some people feel it shouldn't be the government only

08:52 Sort of funding these social intervention programs. What's your take on that?

09:00 Yes, so from the perspectives we go from business

09:03 They also believe that it is not as so it shouldn't be the sole responsibility of governments

09:08 Of course government is the one providing that food and therefore we must have you know, provide access to education for

09:14 gaming youth

09:17 population so

09:18 Businesses believe that it is time for government to bed and share the cost of education

09:23 Especially at the free SHS level at the SHS level and they believe that there are parents who are capable and willing

09:31 to pay for their

09:33 What education in secondary schools look if parents are able to take care of some, you know?

09:40 Cost at their primary through you know, JHS and some send their kids to the private schools where they pay quite significant

09:49 Usual fees and all that and academic fees if parents have that capability or capacity to do that

09:55 Then they believe that they should be able to support government where this free SHS agenda

10:00 So in in that case there is funding to support and to widen even more for more people

10:06 they're vulnerable for the less privileged to have access to education and that would come by the

10:11 government working together with parents to be able to support this and noble idea of ensuring free

10:18 and access to quality education

10:20 Remember it is also impacting one of the sustainable development goals, which is you know, access to quality education

10:27 Which is one of the priority goals that businesses believe that in

10:31 2020

10:34 Government should prioritize

10:37 There's plenty to cover from your pre-budget survey

10:40 Gallup say climate finance and sustainable development goals. We're going to try to have you back to discuss that but for now

10:46 Thank you so much ever. Sorry

10:48 advise deal advisory partner KPMG

10:51 appreciate the insights you've given us ahead of the

10:54 2024 budget presentation. Thank you

10:58 You're watching the market place now gone along with other West African countries will experience shortage of

11:05 Akosomo strain of tilapia for close to a year this follows spillage of the Akosomo Dam over the past few weeks which flooded ponds

11:12 Washing away a bigger chunk of about 14,000 blue stock of the fish at the aquaculture research

11:19 Envelopment Center of the Council for scientific and industrial research

11:23 What a research institute now senior research scientists at the center. Dr. Antonio

11:28 I've echo disclosed this as stakeholders assess extent

11:32 Spillage by the water level authority has done to aquaculture

11:36 Tema correspondent Kwame Anka has the rest of the story

11:41 The aquaculture research and development center addict of the Council for scientific and industrial research

11:47 What a research institute at Akosomo in the eastern region

11:52 Supplies the country and other West African countries with a Akosomo strain of tilapia

11:58 Also known as a real chromis niloticus the center up onto the spillage of the dam

12:04 Had 14,000 blue stock or parent fish of tilapia at its biosecure area

12:11 Which was a combination of work done in close to 30 years

12:15 however, the aftermath of this village has been nothing short of devastating it is estimated that

12:23 the 14,000 blue stock valued at about

12:26 230,000 cities would have produced about 1 million fingerlings. Dr. Antonio

12:33 Agbeku is a senior research scientist at the aquaculture research and development center of CSIR

12:40 Water Research Institute. Majority of them. Let me put it that way majority of them had been lost to the flood

12:46 So fingerling production within the next year would be affected

12:51 Nigeria

12:53 Cameroon

12:54 Togo, Benin depends upon this sector a center for blue stocks

12:59 And so you can imagine the extent of damage the extent of damage is not only about Ghana the extent of damage

13:05 Would affect the entire West African sub-region and food security issues

13:10 It's a stick because now we don't know how many cages

13:16 Are still intact on the river

13:19 We don't know how many fish are still there for us to get tilapia, which is a delicacy

13:27 For Christmas according to farm manager at least farms, which is upstream

13:32 Joshua Reynolds Lanyo, they will lose over

13:35 500,000 cities in the next few months as a result of the flood. You see due to that

13:41 The price they are not they are not healthy because of what what happened

13:48 So after we delivered the area having a lot of mortalities and other stuff and it is costing us a lot

13:54 Sometimes you have to do replacement for them. Sometimes you have to talk to them for them to understand

13:59 So that is what has happened to us now

14:01 For now, we are doing a little

14:05 Fingerling production here as you can see at the top here and

14:10 We are doing with a the group

14:13 The ones that will sell to the market. So those are the ones we are having now

14:18 Okay, so due to what has happened for the next six months, we are going to lose about 500,000 Ghana cities

14:25 So that is what is costing us now

14:27 Joseph Achoo who is into fish farming at Peji downstream says over

14:33 200,000 cities of investment is lost due to this village

14:37 We lost we lost about we lost a huge money and if I could get my roughly estimate now

14:45 18 to 200,000 Ghana cities all of a sudden

14:48 the one we were able to

14:51 to get from the cage

14:54 Even doesn't reach 10,000. So for now

14:59 What what what we are we are telling our investors is because there are some people who help us to get money to invest or to

15:08 Put into the production. There's a lot of people. So as it comes like this, we don't know how

15:14 Are they going to fall and we send them the pictures of the centerpiece and other things so

15:18 We don't know how far you're gonna be because for now there is the pressure

15:23 secretary of the Chamber of Aquaculture Association

15:27 John Domozulu fears the extent of damage might take forever for these fish farmers to recover

15:34 It's so it's a dust capital that is eroded

15:38 Money is no easy to come by in this country. So even if you did a production

15:43 I don't get any profits out of it

15:46 You are hoping that you have something to plow back and then make gains again now

15:51 Everything is gone as I just said is going to cost them what?

15:54 20 to 50,000 just getting their cages back on to

15:59 Bounty the water feed cost hasn't yet come and feed causes what 80 70 80 percent of the whole production cost

16:07 it's just going to be hard and

16:10 To also think of it that you have lost some investor confidence because they have people that invest into their operations and this has happened

16:18 They are not going to get that investment again

16:21 Meanwhile chief executive officer of the Chamber of Aquaculture Ghana

16:26 Jacob Ajica is asking stakeholders including Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture

16:32 Development to come to the aid of the affected fish farmers

16:37 The reason is that these businesses are creating a lot of economic opportunities for young men and women in their host communities

16:44 They employ a lot of people they provide income for those engaged as well

16:50 So given the impact and the laws that they have incurred

16:52 We think that our key stakeholders like the Fisheries Commission and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture

16:58 Development should come to their aid to come to their aid with some support

17:04 To enable these businesses bounce back as soon as possible

17:07 I mean we'll also encourage them to subscribe for aquaculture insurance

17:10 But with an insurance product covering their business an event like this can help them still, you know be in business

17:17 Now we also encourage them to start thinking about using

17:20 Durable materials to construct their main assets, especially cages for these stakeholders

17:26 The impact of the spillage has been devastating and government ought to help affected fish farmers

17:33 Kwame Yankes reports for Joy Business

17:37 The devastating impact of the Akosumbu Dam spillage on aquaculture there

17:44 Now the Food Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in partnership with ECOWAS has trained

17:51 38 small and medium enterprises in food processing to reduce post harvest losses and ensure that perishable foods are available all year round

18:00 director of the Institute Professor Charles Toto

18:02 Indicated that organizing more workshops to train businesses on the importance of value addition and business development will help reduce

18:10 the unemployment rate

18:12 The ECOWAS youth program on food processing and business development is part of a grant scheme

18:19 ECOWAS youth policy strategic plan of action which seeks to mobilize youth to contribute effectively to economic

18:28 social and cultural developments and integration

18:30 The CSIR Food Research Institute is being funded by ECOWAS to implement the program in Ghana

18:38 Professor Charles Toto is the director of CSIR Food Research Institute

18:43 You notice that in the glad seasons in Ghana

18:47 There are so many crops that are going with that tells you that there's a high post harvest losses

18:54 That we are experiencing in Ghana for all the crops that we have in Ghana

18:58 So this value addition this processing is going to add value to those crops

19:04 That we have mentioned this morning that our focus is on and then by adding value

19:09 We're going to save it and make the food available throughout the season

19:13 so this training for our youth is so important in addition to

19:20 Addressing the challenge of youth unemployment is also addressing the high post harvest losses on our crops that we are

19:27 experiencing in the country and by adding value we tend to save the foods for the lean seasons and when

19:34 The seasons are off they'll be produced available on these crops and that is what we are looking for within this training

19:42 Principal technologist at CSIR Food Research Institute Edna Mreku-Esel

19:49 lauded the initiative

19:51 According to her this is important for salvaging food security crops like cassava

19:57 For some few years now cassava has been on high demand

20:01 Because of the diversity of its industrial application of the products that is being channelled from cassava

20:08 So to me because of the growing demand of cassava and cassava being a food security crop

20:13 when these participants are

20:17 trained and value addition of the cassava is going to help for

20:22 the growing demand of it and also to help them also have something doing as youth and

20:27 I'm sure that it will empower them to also help in the development of our country

20:32 A participant Mercy Tete expressed excitement for the knowledge and skills acquired and shared how she would implement it

20:41 I'm here to acquire knowledge as an

20:44 as a recent graduate

20:47 who has finished her NSS and is home still seeking for a job. So as I saw the

20:53 flyer I decided to embark on this journey to acquire more knowledge on how to

20:58 produce

21:01 agricultural food into more stable and

21:03 long-lasting produce. I'll practice more at home, and then I'm going to seek help from

21:09 people I mean business owners

21:14 startup sole proprietors who can also be of help to me as I start with my

21:22 entrepreneurship journey. The ECOWAS youth program on food processing and business development

21:30 focused on high quality cassava flour and dairy processing, value addition to foods, marketing and business development.

21:41 Now the Young Investor Network has expressed its commitment to improve financial literacy among high school students. According to its executive

21:49 director in charge of projects and programs Joshua Kwey Mensah, organizing the capital market quiz competition amongst

21:56 senior high schools will be crucial in building good knowledge of financial markets.

22:00 He spoke to Joy Business at a ceremony to seed competing schools for the semi-final contest.

22:05 The capital market quiz competition is jointly organized by the Young Investor Network and the Ghana Stock Exchange.

22:12 The competition which has been in existence for 10 years is aimed at promoting financial literacy among high school

22:20 students. The semi-final of this year's competition will see 16 senior high schools

22:26 lock horns in four competitions for the final four. Joshua Kwey Mensah

22:30 is the executive director of projects and programs at the Young Investor Network.

22:36 We've been touring the various regions. We started this quiz in Oligwethakura.

22:40 We've been doing it for some time and the Ghana Stock Exchange says why can't we go to other regions?

22:45 So we have five regions that we visited and we've impacted over 10,000

22:50 students already and through our national financial education programs.

22:54 And the capital market quiz is part of the program. So we've done the

23:00 preliminaries where some students won and in other regions. So today we are here we have we've balloted

23:07 for the semi-finals and we have 16 schools go to compete for the semi-finals and you can see for

23:14 yourself we are able to ballot and in December we are going to do the semi-finals and the finals.

23:19 He explains the impact of the competition. This particular quiz is there to support

23:25 the nation raising generational financial literacy and these young guys are doing very well.

23:32 What I've witnessed in the various regions it gives me hope that in the years to come we are going to

23:38 have a lot of financial literacy. We have a target to impact over five million youth in Ghana

23:45 in the next 10 years. We are going to do that and this is one of our flagship programs.

23:49 With the help of the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission the team from

23:55 Young Investors Network we also have the Central Securities Depository,

23:58 UMB, IEC and the rest they have been supporting this.

24:01 Rita Bwatema, a tutor at the Presbyterian Senior Technical High School, Ebri had this to say.

24:09 It's very important because it's exposing my students to the financial markets and then the

24:14 ways of financial planning and then investing as well. So they are being exposed to the practical

24:24 aspects of the financial market which includes the stock exchange and then the others. So they

24:29 are finding the real life experience from the teachings and then the topics they've been

24:35 studying purposely for the quiz. The semi-final contest will take place on December 5th and 6th, 2023.

24:43 Now the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Reverend Professor Joseph Obrey-Obuamante

24:50 has called for the inclusion of entrepreneurship in tertiary education curricula.

24:55 According to Professor Obrey-Obuamante a conscious effort is required through the educational system

24:59 to instill the habit of creating decent businesses after the completion of school. This he believes

25:05 will be key in reducing the high unemployment and dependency rate in the country. He spoke at

25:10 the 17th congregation of the Presbyterian University Ghana. Founded in 2003 the Presbyterian

25:19 University Ghana boasts of five campuses and a wide range of tailored undergraduates, graduates

25:25 as well as short courses to develop students for the job market. On the occasion of the 17th

25:31 congregation of the institution the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Reverend

25:36 Professor Joseph Obrey-Obuamante explained the need for the inclusion of entrepreneurship

25:42 in the curriculum of tertiary institutions. Education is supposed to open your mind

25:48 so that you yourself can take care of yourself and the society and so I it really beats my

25:56 imagination that people will go through universities and do not I will not learn about entrepreneurship

26:03 how to provide jobs so I keep recommending and I want to say it again that all universities

26:09 should have entrepreneurship as part of their general courses that they teach so that nobody

26:15 will leave a university now going to somebody how do I start a job they should know how to start a

26:22 job it is so important to my heart otherwise why should government why should churches why should

26:28 you all put so much money into universities for young people then to become a burden universities

26:34 must learn that we are in a new generation now. He further commended government for its efforts

26:41 toward science technology and math. The educational system curriculum is emphasizing STEM

26:47 S-T-E-M science technology engineering and mathematics and I seriously want to commend

26:53 the minister of education for bringing this great innovation to this country and I really pray that

27:01 it will really proceed very very well because it's a good thing and I want the whole country to

27:06 embrace it notwithstanding whichever government is in power but there's one thing that I have always

27:13 been trying to champion so it has to do with morality so I wish that the stem will be S-T-E-M-M

27:20 science technology engineering mathematics and morality so that will not just be STEM but STEM

27:25 is important because life is such that the highest form of education you can get

27:33 is moral education. The 17th graduation of the Presbyterian University Ghana saw a total of

27:40 557 students graduate in various fields of study including business administration, law,

27:46 nursing, mathematics, international development amongst others.

27:51 All right get up to date on all the day's latest stories on our website myjournalline.com/business

28:00 2024 budget freeze new tax exemptions for foreign companies we introduce road tolls

28:06 is set to government also city to remain stable against dollar in near term one dollar equals 12

28:12 cities one peswa those stories and more on our website myjournalline.com/business

28:19 my name is Darrell Carr we'll see you same time tomorrow.

28:35 you

28:35 [Music]

Economic Recovery: KPMG predicts doubling of Ghanas growth rate in 2024 | Market Place

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