Finance Expert, Dr. Williams Peprah, has indicated that an effective restructuring of the country’s debt by the Finance Minister would enable the nation to get out of the present economic challenges.

This, he believes, will also slow down the current deprecation of the cedi and tame the rising inflation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling for a restructuring of the country’s debt to reduce the pressure on the country’s finances.

Speaking to Joy Business, Dr. Peprah, who is an Associate Professor with Andrews University in Michigan, USA said restructuring of the country’s debt is non-negotiable, since it will help extend the tenor or repayment period.

“So that is the reason why this is very crucial. I’m sure IMF will be looking at our debt portfolio”.

“Probably, they [IMF] may ask the Minister of Finance [Ken Ofori-Atta] to do a debt restructuring to provide some room to prolong payments. Also to convince our Eurobond holders to keep trust in us and to further rollover some bonds in order to get foreign currency to support payments”, he pointed out.

He stressed that the situation the economy finds itself is a difficult one, but “ we are aware the Cocoa Syndicated Loan will becoming somewhere in October [2022] and this may carry us through to December 2022, after which we will need additional balance of payment support”.

Dr. Peprah also mentioned that a restructuring of the country’s debt by the Finance Minister will position the country well and make it an attractive destination for investors.

He added “the main cause of inflation in Ghana is the cedi depreciation. Depreciation is about 80% of our inflationary cause”.