Abena Osei Asare, deputy minister for finance has assured Ghanaians that the government is putting measures in place to sustain the country’s rising debt levels.
Fitch, an international rating agency downgraded Ghana’s economy from B to B- with a negative outlook citing the country’s debt concerns.
This was after media reports suggested that “Ghana’s debt moved deeper into distress as investors lose patience”.
However, speaking to Beatrice Adu on the Big Bulletin on (January 17), Osei Asare said the government is working to reduce its expenditure to service its debts.
She said: “If we try to boost economic growth, clearly trade activities will go on and the government will be able to raise more revenue. If we try to reduce our expenditure; what we call expenditure rationalization, definitely we’ll be in a better position to service these debts.
… and again, if we check inflation and the interest, it’ll go a long way to boost the economy and give some hope that we are in a position to service our debts. The IMF said there’s a risk of debt distress but it doesn’t mean they’re unsustainable. So, clearly, they’re looking at other factors and we have to look at other factors not only the interest that we’re paying but look at the growth.”
“…We have seen some growth, businesses are picking up again and to let you know, GRA in 2021 went over and above its targets clearly, it tells you that measures that the government are putting in place is working and is the same measures that we’re going to implement in 2022, we’re going to make sure that we bring debts to sustainable levels and at the same time, raise the needed revenue to be able to thrive,” she stated.
In August 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described Ghana as a high debt distress country.
However, the Fund stated that the country will not default in repaying its debts due to the country’s strong record of servicing its debts.
Nicholas Brown
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