From £200m in reserves to over £250m debt – Dr. Busia shares ills after Nkrumah's regime in 1970s interview

During an interview with the British press at the Offices of the Ghana High Commission in London, former prime minister Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia recounted the magnitude of the economic crisis that Ghana faced.

Dr Busia who assumed office in 1969 accused the Kwame Nkrumah regime of economic mismanagement which saw inflation at around 117 percent, unemployment at an all-high, food shortages, and others.

According to Dr Busia, Ghana was in a strong reserve position at independence with more than £200 million pounds in reserves and at the end of the Nkrumah regime in 1966, the country was saddled with a debt totaling over £250 million pounds.

He made this known when asked about the economic problem his [Busia] government was faced with when speaking with the British press in London in the 1970s.

“Take first the economic problem, at independence, we had more than £200 million pounds in reserves, and at the time of the coup and end of Nkrumah’s regime, we had debt totaling over £250 million pounds and in fact, we do not yet know exactly how much we [Ghana] is owing because they are certain agreements signed and we’ve not been able to collect all the facts and figures about these.”

Touching on other sectors of the economy which was faced with challenges, Dr Busia said, “Then also we have shortage of food, essential goods, and items…then everywhere on the political level, we have to deal with the fact that democratic rule was completely shattered.”

Meanwhile, Dr Busia was overthrown in a ‘bloodless’ military coup led by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong on January 13, 1972.

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