
Audio By Carbonatix
It is interesting to find some Ghanaians shocked at the swift defense of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), strongly denying that Ghana has not been classified as a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) based on information found on its website.
Our elders say, you don’t ask for a chair when you visit a place where the chief himself sits on the floor. I would have been extremely disappointed in the IMF, if they had not mounted such a defense for government, as they have always done.
The IMF is reported to state that, the HIPC initiative is essentially closed for countries that have already reached the completion point. It also added that Ghana successfully reached the completion point in July 2004.
The IMF was insistent that the list of countries that have qualified for the HIPC Initiative since its inception in 1996 is regularly updated on their website and must not be interpreted as a new HIPC list, it added that any such interpretation is flawed and may be deceptive.
But for the millions of unemployed young Ghanaian generations, our biggest concern is not to know the graduation point of our nation regarding the HIPC initiative rather many Ghanaians are deeply interested in knowing, if our nation deserves forgiveness of debts as a result of our accumulated sins in skillful excessive borrowing, bad leadership and corruption.
The HIPC Initiative focused on ensuring that no poor country face a debt burden it could not manage.
The initiative which was launched in 1996 by the IMF and the World Bank Group had Ghana joining in July 2001 and after three years of working with the Bretton Woods institutions and the African Development Bank to implement the HIPC initiative, eventually, about $3.7 billion of the country’s debt were forgiven under the momentous program.
The country also benefitted from other debt relief and economic opportunities from some of its creditors as a result of opting to be declined HIPC.
A letter from the heart can easily be read with on the face, if government radically continues our national sins of excessive borrowing and spend at the current rate, the post-2020 general election economy will not be able to hide the negative impact of these actions.
As the electoral competition becomes more intense, political parties have also intensified their promises to Ghanaians of all walks of life.
Will our future government be in a position to fulfill its promises, if our creditor decides not to forgive our burden of debt?
Latest Stories
-
Korle-Klottey, Tema and Accra Metro lead HIV table in Greater Accra – AIDS Commission
12 minutes -
Stonebwoy, Fameye, DopeNation and Akwaboah to headline Ghana for Gold concert in Scotland on August 1
27 minutes -
NPP Ashanti Region clears 34 aspirants ahead of August 16 regional executive elections
49 minutes -
GMet forecasts thunderstorms in northern Ghana as mist and fog affect southern areas
52 minutes -
Three remanded over alleged lynching of man at Sabon Zongo in Kumasi
54 minutes -
NACOC warns global drug traffickers are using cyberspace to expand synthetic drug operations
1 hour -
When everyone knows but no one speaks: The silence that sustains Academic Bullying
1 hour -
Photos : Mahama signs new GIPA Act into law to boost Ghana’s investment drive
1 hour -
Daily Insight for CEOs: Ecosystem leadership in a connected economy
1 hour -
Today’s front pages: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
2 hours -
World Gold Council commits US$250,000 grant to support Ghana’s responsible small-scale mining programme
2 hours -
Police arrest two at Asawase Market over suspected narcotic drugs concealed in fertiliser sacks
2 hours -
Accra to host Pan-African conference on economic restructuring, political reforms
2 hours -
When Chairman Wontumi’s 20-year sentence marks a turning point in the fight against political impunity
2 hours -
ADRA Ghana donates relief items, calls for sustainable recovery support for June 29 flood victims
2 hours