Coronavirus: We’ll suffer under massive debt after this is over - Kofi Bentil

Senior Vice President and Policy Analyst with Imani Africa, Kofi Bentil has predicted that Ghana will suffer under massive debt after the coronavirus pandemic.

He adds that there is a lot of money being raised easily and spent even though spending it on the right persons and places remain the main problem.

In a bid to mitigate economic hardships as a result of the drastic measures being implemented to prevent or limit the spread of the virus, the Government of Ghana has announced, among others, free water for all Ghanaians and free electricity for the poorest of the poor( including a 50% rebate for other electricity consumers) for the next three months.

Many have praised the President for announcing the measures aimed at making life much more bearable for Ghanaians, especially those under partial lockdown in Kumasi, Tema, Kasoa and Accra.

But Mr Bentil reacted with a caution that the massive amounts being borrowed by the government to pay for these mitigation measures will leave the country heavily indebted after the fight is over.

“We will suffer under massive debt when this is over. There’s a lot of money sloshing around, raising money is easy, getting it to the right people and places remain the main problem,” he wrote on social media.

Government has borrowed heavily from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, including a $100 million debt, to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Other interventions announced by the government to lessen the suffering of Ghanaians include free bus rides for health workers, feeding for people in disadvantaged areas among others