Ghana to borrow more to pay public debts – Economist

Economist Professor John Gatsi has said Ghanaians will see more borrowing by the government if prudent measures are not adopted going forward.

His claim comes on the back of concerns over the rate of government borrowing and the rising public debt.

Ghana’s Public debt has hit 142.5 billion Ghana Cedis as of December last year.

This was contained in the latest Summary of Economic Data released by the Central Bank after a review of development in the economy by the Monetary Committee of the Bank.

Per the summary, the government spent about 3.5 billion Ghana cedis from September to December last year. The data puts external debt at 75.8 billion Ghana cedis with internal debt at 37.1 billion Ghana cedis.

The figures are exclusive of the new loan approvals granted the Akufo-Addo-led administration by Parliament.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, Prof. Gatsi said even though the public debt appears to be rising, it will not take Ghana to HIPC.

“If we were worried about a lower figure in the past, then we should be worried about a recent higher figure. When you borrow, you are expected to grow your economy to repay in future but that is not happening in our case. To borrow outside your country, you’ll have to ensure your export is also in good shape. We will have to raise revenue domestically but the domestic revenue is not performing and so the gov’t will be forced to borrow.

“From 2019 – 2021, most of our debt will mature and will have to be paid. How do we pay? If we are not careful, we may have to borrow again to repay our debts and that is worrying. We will have to work hard to gather revenue in the country otherwise, we will be seen borrowing more,” he said.