(3 minutes read)
· Ghana after the keenly contested election is now focusing on how to salvage the beleaguered economy ridden with huge debt in the midst of the fallout of the pandemic
· Ghana borrowed close to 150 billion Ghana cedis ( US$26 billion) in three years
· Economists say close to eight percent out of the nearly 16 percent fiscal deficit is caused by unnecessary expenditure
Ghana after the keenly contested election is now focusing on how to salvage the beleaguered economy ridden with huge debt in the midst of the fallout of the pandemic. Traders decry low sales and citizens complain about their low purchasing power. These two inter-related factors are pulling down the economy.
Economists are now debating what forced Ghana to borrow heavily in the recent years. Ghana borrowed close to 150 billion Ghana cedis ( US$26 billion) in three years. As things stand now, the type of development works the government has promised to undertake particularly for building a world class infrastructure, there is no scope for putting brakes on the expenditure under the capital head. The economists are of the view that the government can control expenditure on the revenue side by cutting down some of the wasteful expenditure. Economists say close to eight percent out of the nearly 16 percent fiscal deficit is caused by unnecessary expenditure. They question about the country’s lack of preparedness and say that so far it has not formulated any debt sustainability plan.
