Whatever fiscal policy plans that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had in mind before assuming the reins of government need to be reviewed. This is because President Kufour's government is currently faced with a herculian task of dealing with the country's external debt, says the Evening News.
The external debt position, which had for a long time not been disclosed to Ghanaians by the previous government and shrouded in secrecy, paints a gloomy picture of the economy. With inflation at its peak in the history of the nation, it has been disclosed that the country's external debt stands at six billion US dollars.
This mind-boggling figure was disclosed by Dr Kwesi Nduom an economic consultant and member of the Transitional Team.
Giving the breakdown of the debt, he said three billion dollars was borrowed from the World Bank while the remaining came from some developed countries.
Dr Nduom told a durbar organized by students of the Opoku Ware Hall of the University College of Education Winneba (Kumasi Campus) at the weekend that "Before the accounting exercise is over the nation's debt will hit over ?10 trillion" he said.
Dr Nduom attributed the huge debt to improper planning by the past government and mismanagement on the part of officials of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company (BOST) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) headed by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata.
