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Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu: COVID-19 pushes Ghana’s debt to GHS291.6 billion

Presenting the 2021 budget statement in Parliament, Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu disclosed Ghana’s current debt stock is GHS 291.6 billion

COVID-19 pandemic pushed Ghana’s deficit and debts to worrying levels, according to statistics presented in the 2021 budget statement.

Presenting the budget statement in Parliament on Friday 12 March 2021, caretaker minister for finance Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the current debt stock is GHS 291.6 billion with 76.1% GDP as compared to 2016 where the debt stock was GHS122 billion and a GDP of 56.9%.

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Explaining what accounted for the debt stock, the majority leader said fiscal impact of COVID-19 was GHS19.7 billion, cost of financial sector clean-up was GHS 21 billion while GHS 12 billion was the cost of Excess Capacity charges paid to IPPs.

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“Without aforementioned factors, debt stock would be targeting GHS 238.9billion with 58.7 of GDP. The revision of growth rate is from an average of 7% between 2017-2019 to 0.9% in 2020,” he said.

Between 2004 and 2008, Ghana’s debt stock increased by 30% under the Kufuor-led New Patriotic Party administration. Between 2008-2012 the debt stock jumped to 269% under the Mills NDC administration and 243% between 2012 and 2016 under the Mahama NDC government. Between 2016 to 2020, the country’s debt stock has risen to 137% under the Akufo-Addo administration.

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Source: asaaseradio

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