Ghana’s total public debt stock has increased once again according to the finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta.
Ken Ofori Atta made this information available to the general public when he was presenting the 2022 budget statement and economic policy to Ghanaians in Parliament on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.
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Despite the increased fiscal deficit and public debt levels caused by COVID-19, he noted that the macro-financial indicators are substantially better than what the government inherited in 2017.
Ken Ofori Atta said;
“The provisional nominal debt stock including financial sector bailout costs and energy sector IPPs payments, stood at GH¢341.76 billion, equivalent to 77.5% of GDP as at end-September 2021, up slightly from GH¢291.63 billion, equivalent to 76.1 percent in December 2020.”
He went on to add that;
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“Fiscal deficit reduced from 6.5 percent of GDP at the end of 2016 to 4.8 percent of GDP at the end of 2019“
“Primary balance improved from a deficit of reduced from 1.1 percent of GDP at the end of 2016 to a primary surplus of 0.8 percent of GDP at the end of 2019; GDP grew from 3.4 percent at the end of 2016 to 6.5 percent at the end of 2019,”
In other news, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have designated Ghana as one of Africa’s most highly indebted countries.
Tanzania, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Republic of Congo are among the extremely indebted poor countries that made it to the list with Ghana.
