The task of reviving the economy is bound to be more herculean following the discovery of an internal debt of ?6trillion and a worsening of the external debt by $200million.
Making the revelation to a stunned group at the State House last Tuesday, the Minister-designate of Finance, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said that ?6trillion represents a whopping 20% of Ghana’s GDP!!
He described the debts as “unusual” and the financial situation as “dangerous.” Nevertheless, he said, the Kufuor administration will present its first budget in March.
He appealed to the Japanese Ambassador, Hiromu Nitta, who had called on President J.A. Kufuor, to release a planned $80m to assist in the process of economic recovery.
Stressing the gravity of the situation, Minister of Trade and Industries-designate, Dr Kofi Apraku, called for assistance to the NPP government to enable it to address a problem that is not its making but merely inherited.
He called for the release of Japanese funds to Ghana and said the new government is determined to give the economy a new lease of life.
President Kufuor reiterated his determination to curb corruption as part of measures to instill discipline into the economy.
He also stressed his commitment to usshering in the golden age for business and said that under his administration the private sector will be given all the assistance to act as the engine of the envisioned economic success.
The President expressed his desire for special relations with Japan and called on the Ambassador to work hard to strengthen relations between the two countries.
