Finance Minister: Ghana is at High Risk of Debt Distress

Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance
Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance

Accra, August 1, 2017//-After leading the government to borrow close to GH¢20 billion in six months, Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta says the country is a high risk of debt distress.

 Reviewing the mid-year fiscal policy of the 2017 budget statement and economic policy of the government on Monday 31 July, 2017, Mr Ofori-Atta lamented “…  in recent years the country has unfortunately accumulated a large amount of debt, which resulted in the country being at a high risk of debt distress and putting our economic development in jeopardy”.

He added: “From a debt stock of GH¢9.5 billion at the end of 2008, it increased to GH¢122.3 billion at the end of 2016 (an increase of debt stock by 1,154%). The debt servicing payments arising from this legacy of debt accumulation amounts to some 45 percent of total domestic revenue”.

“Unfortunately, our economy would have to live with this burden for some time as we make efforts to repair the damage”, Mr Ofori-Atta told Parliament yesterday.

He explained  that the revised 2016 nominal GDP of GH¢167.3 billion, puts the public debt-to-GDP ratio at 73.1 percent of GDP against the 72.5 percent reported in the 2017 Budget presented to this House earlier in March this year.

Related https://africaneyereport.com/ghanas-borrowing-spreeany-cause-for-worry/

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