Ghana won’t default in paying four Chinese loans – Government spokesperson

The government spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye Danquah, says the government of Ghana will not default in paying collateralised loans from China, as that will come at a great cost to the country.

This follows the International Monetary Fund (IMF), revealing that the Chinese government would likely have access to Ghana’s mineral revenue and electricity revenue due to the government of Ghana’s failure to honour its loan agreement.

According to a news report by myjoyonline.com, the fund indicated that this might happen because the government of Ghana is at risk of not being able to repay four loans it acquired from the Chinese government, which it collateralised with Ghana’s mineral resources and electricity sales.

The report indicated that Ghana, for the past decade, acquired at least eight collateralised loans from China with different mineral resources as security against default.

It added that as of the end of 2022, collateralised loans amounted to $619 million of the $1.9 billion loan agreements Ghana has with China.

The IMF indicated that $619 million in loans were acquired between 2007 and 2018, and they were collateralised with Ghana’s cocoa, bauxite and oil and electricity revenue.

Commenting on the issue in an interview on Ghana Kasa show on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV Thursday, Palgrave Boakye Danquah said the government remains committed to diligently paying all loans secured from China.

“Ghana will not default in the payment of the loan from China because we have undertaken some restructuring of the economy. I’m very confident that China will not have access to Ghana’s mineral revenue and electricity revenue. There is no cause for alarm; Ghanaians should rest assured that the government will do the right thing”, he explained.