Let's not play with Ghana’s ballooning debts — Franklin Cudjoe

The founding President of IMANI Africa, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, has lamented the high public debt bedevilling the country.

Not only did he lament, but he also suggested the debt restructuring plans by government be taken seriously.

In a tweet on Friday, September 30, spotted by Modernghana News, the policy advisor wrote, "thinking about the country's debt. We really need to treat this debt restructuring business carefully.”

Ghana’s ballooning debt

Bloomberg recently ranked Ghana second, after El Salvador, among countries with the highest debt default risk in 2022.

According to Bloomberg, Ghana's debt to GDP is expected to reach 84.6 per cent by the end of this year.

It also stated that the country's debt will exceed $400 billion by the end of 2022.

Ghana's public debt had reached GHS391 billion (US$50.3 billion) as of the first quarter of 2021, according to the Bank of Ghana.

The debt stock increased by up to GHS40.1 billion, owing primarily to exchange rate fluctuations.

According to the survey, Ghana and Brazil's interest expense to GDP ratio is expected to reach 7.2 per cent in 2022, the highest among the 25 countries surveyed.