"2015 will be tough, no jokes about it" – Mona Quartey

Next year will not be an easy year as far as the economy is concerned, Deputy Minister of Finance Mona Quartey has said.

“2015 will be tough: there is no joking about that because that is when we are doing a lot of corrections, but it will be tough. We know that it will get better so there is expectation that everything will be fine,” Quartey told Joy FM in an interview.

She also said though 2014 has been a tough year, the Government was able to face the difficulties head on, resulting in some tangible results.

“We walked into a time where we are making a transition and also we had our oil and gas industry booming; it needed a lot of infrastructure, we had the Ghana Gas plant being built so we had to borrow for it and spend for it…so there has been a lot of spending but for a good purpose.

“Ghana gas is now running and gas is being turned into the energy sector and cost of producing should come down soon then and we should have more power because other independent producers are coming on board,” Quartey explained.

Ghana is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a three-year financial programme to help the oil-producing country rescue its ailing economy.

The local currency – Cedi – fell by about 40 percent in the first three-quarters of 2014. It, however, gained marginal stability following Government’s infusion of $2.7 billion into the economy through a $1 billion Eurobond flotation and a $1.7-billion syndicated loan from the cocoa industry.