A fellow of the finance pillar of think tank Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Haruna Alhassan, has advised the government that takes over from the current administration to begin another round of debt restructuring in 2025.

The finance expert also said if the next administration fails to reverse the often-criticised "borrowing for consumption" and instead wisely invests monies borrowed, Ghana will perpetually be in bankruptcy.

On July 1, 2022, President Nana Akufo-Addo directed then-finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to engage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a debt-restructuring programme, in essence declaring the country bankrupt and triggering a series of harsh outcomes for bondholders.

"We may come out [of the bankruptcy] temporarily because of debt restructuring, but overall, we will still have a debt burden that we will struggle to pay. Going into 2025 to 2028, if you look at the payment profile of the restructured bonds we cannot run away from having a second round of debt restructuring and we must start that engagement right from 2025," he urged.

Haruna Alhassan made the statement when he delivered a keynote address at the 13th edition of the Leadership Dialogue Series (LDS) organised by CSJ.

Themed "Ghana’s Economy from 2025 – 2028: The Hard Choices", the discussions at 'LDS 13' made many other insightful proposals for the next government on restoring Ghana's economy winning ways.

The CSJ fellow also predicted that the next government would face an uphill task fixing the current economic challenges that have been characterised by unprecedented hardship.

"The road ahead will be tough. Tough, rough and bumpy," warned Haruna Alhassan, adding that from 2025, the ideal government for the country would be one led by an experienced person.

The domestic debt exchange programme has been widely criticised as chaotic and largely insensitive as it targets some pension funds.

The programme, according to a study, is likely to reduce the wealth and income of individual households, directly through retail holdings or indirectly through shares in mutual funds and pension funds.

Alhassan says to correct the chaos that characterised the recent programme, the next government must start the negotiation process early.

"The road ahead will be tough. Tough, rough and bumpy," warned Haruna Alhassan, adding that from 2025, the ideal government for the country would be one led by an experienced person.

The Leadership Dialogue Series is CSJ's flagship civic education platform. It aims to nurture mass political participation and patriotic values through stimulating discussions with experts and prominent national leaders.

CSJ is a think tank with a left-of-centre leaning. It is a platform for academics, activists and Ghanaian patriots that champions greater social inclusion in the distribution of wealth, privileges and opportunities in society.