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By Christian Akorlie and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila
ACCRA (Reuters) -Ghana's finance minister raised the country's 2024 growth forecast on Tuesday and said the West African nation was rebounding faster than expected from its worst economic crisis in a generation.
Citing the positive impact of debt restructuring and reforms, Mohammed Amin Adam told parliament during a presentation of the mid-year budget that Ghana had "reversed negative trends," and all indicators were looking better.
The world's number two cocoa producer has been restructuring its $30 billion debt to recover from the crisis.
Adam said economic growth is now seen at 3.1% in 2024, above its previous forecast of 2.8%.
"Growth continues to exceed our expectations," he said, adding that inflation was declining, and a target of 15% inflation was possible by the end of the year, from 22.8% in June.
"It is evident that we are on the right trajectory. The economy is rebounding stronger than anticipated," he said.
Ghana's budget deficit stood at 3.4% of gross domestic product in the first half of the year, Adam said.
Leslie Dwight Mensah, economist and research fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in Accra, said Ghana's economic growth was expected to strengthen further.
"Ghana's economic growth has historically moved in step with macroeconomic stabilisation. This is what we're witnessing as the economy continues its recovery," Mensah said.
Ghana, a stable democracy in coup-hit west Africa, heads to the polls in December to elect legislators and replace President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down in January 2025 after serving two terms.
Former President John Dramani Mahama will take on ruling party candidate Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in a vote expected to be closely contested.
The economic crisis, which has driven up the cost of living and caused the currency to tumble, is expected to be a key election issue.
(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Christina Fincher)
