Ghana's public debt rises to GH¢214.9 billion, here's its breakdown

The increase, the central bank said, is due to the constant depreciation cedi.

The cedi in 2019 depreciated against the US dollar by 12.9 percent.

The data comes after the Monetary Policy Committee held a meeting to review the health of the economy in order to make a decision that is likely to influence the cost of credit in the country.

Breakdown of the debt

The GH¢205 billion total debt stock puts the country’s Debt-to-GDP Ratio at 62.1 percent. GH¢111.9 billion of the debt constituted external debt, equivalent to about US$ 20.3 billion, representing about 32.4 percent of GDP.

On the other hand, domestic debts stand at about GH¢102.9 billion representing 29.8 percent of GDP. GH¢10.7 billion of the debt was advanced towards the cleaning up of the financial sector, which the central bank classifies as financial sector resolution bond

The special resolution bonds issued to protect bank depositors – by bridging the capital deficits of several indigenous banks consumed by the recent consolidation process masterminded by the BoG – has also contributed substantially to the recent sharp rise in the public debt level.

Monetary Policy Rate

The Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee has said it will announce its benchmark Monetary Policy Rate for the next two months.

Ghana’s benchmark policy rate is currently at 16.0 percent and proponents of a cut in the MPR argue that it is needed to make credit cheaper, which could increase private sector demand for credit to expand production and enhance overall economic activity.