Seth Terkper, Finance Minister
Finance Minister Seth Terkper has disclosed the country is likely to end the year with a public debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio not exceeding 70%.
There were projections the ratio would cross the dreaded 70% mark by end of year, which some economists say could mean that Ghana’s debt stock had reached unsustainable levels.
But Mr Terkper has indicated that government is making every effort to ensure the red line is not crossed.
“We want to maintain the debt below 70 percent and I think we should be able to do that as a country with these measures that we have introduced,” he told Class News.
Ghana’s total public debt hit GHS112.4 billion by end of September 2016, representing 67.4 per cent of GDP. This is above the prescribed debt sustainability level of 65% and above the 66% the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected for Ghana.
According to Mr Terkper the debt will begin a gradual decline and remain within sustainable levels in the first quarter of 2017.
He said government had adopted a number of measures that would ensure that the target is met.
