The recent appreciation of the Ghana Cedi against major trading currencies has shrunk Ghana's pubic debt by GH¢150 billion, President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed.He observed that because Ghana's public debt is stated in cedis, anytime the local currency weakens against trading currencies, the debt is automatically pushed up."Fortunately, some measures we have put in place have recently begun to show results.
By virtue of the cedi making gains against major trading currencies we have reduced our total public debt over the last five months by almost GH¢150 billion," he revealed.•President John Mahama (right) in discussion with President Alassane OuattaraPresident Mahama made this known in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, yesterday when he participated in a panel discussion at the 60th Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the 51st Annual Meeting of the African Development Fund (ADF).He projected that "if that trajectory continues, the target of reaching 55 to 58 per cent of debt sustainability by 2028 will be achieved by the end of this year".If that happens, President Mahama said it would give government the fiscal space to begin to borrow to invest in the most productive sectors of the economy.However, the most sustainable means to keep the debt down, he noted was to improve domestic revenue mobilisation, cut wasteful government expenditure, fight corruption and be more accountable."That is what the focus of my administration is," he emphasised.He underscored the need to invest any loan the government secures into the most productive sectors of the economy."We must do smart borrowing by creating debts escrows so that the income for which you invested the credit can go into repayment," he noted.He cited the examples of the Tema port expansion project and the terminal three of the Kotoka International Airport which he said were paying for themselves.Ghana's total public debt at the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana in its Summary of Financial and Economic Data, stood at GH¢769.4 billion, representing 55 per cent of Gross Domestic Product. BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
