Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has indicated that the rate of accumulation of public debt is declining following the good progress made by the government in ts debt restructuring effort and the success of the fiscal consolidation programme.

Speaking at a joint International Monetary Fund media briefing, he said y, key structural reforms to support growth, improve the Public Financial Management system, improve revenue mobilisation, and support sound monetary and exchange policy are beginning to yield positive results.

“Following the completion of domestic debt structuring of about GH¢203.4 billion in 2023, we reached agreement with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) under the G20 Common Framework on 11th June, 2024 to restructure Ghana’s official bilateral loans totalling $5.1 billion with an estimated debt service relief of $2.8 billion between 2023- 2026.  We also reached agreement with our Eurobond holders on 19th June 2024 to restructure Eurobonds amounting to $13.1 billion with a debt cancellation of roughly $4.7 billion and debt service savings from 2023 to 2026 of about $4.4 billion”.

“The rate of accumulation of public debt is declining following the good progress we have made in our debt restructuring effort and the success of the fiscal consolidation programme”, he added.

The Finance Minister also said the fiscal consolidation programme is progressing smoothly as Ghana’s primary fiscal balance improved by over 4.5 percentage points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023 “and we are committed to further improve the primary balance to a surplus of 0.5% of GDP this year and 1.5% of GDP in the 2025-2028 period.”

He added that the fiscal efforts are supported by reforms to enhance revenue mobilisation and streamline and streamline nonpriority expenditures, whilst expanding social protection programmes to mitigate the impact of fiscal adjustment on the poor.

Ghana’s public debt increases by GH¢46.4bn to GH¢658.6 in two months of 2024

Ghana’s public debt increased by GH¢46.4 billion in the first two months of 2024 to hit GH¢658.6 billion ($53.1 billion), data from the Bank of Ghana has revealed.

The total public debt stock of the country is equivalent to 62.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the Central Bank’s May 2024 Summary of Economic and Financial Data, the country’s debt ended 2023 at GH¢611.2 billion, but shot up to GH¢626.0 billion in January 2024 and subsequently to GH¢658.6 billion in February 2024.