Ghana’s $38.9 billion debt stock: Here’s how much every Ghanaian owes

According to the party, based on the population of the country, every Ghanaian owes at least GHS7,000 as a result of the country’s current public debt stock which is now $38.9 billion (GH¢198 billion).

The total debt stock represents 57% of the country’s GDP.

Data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) recently showed that the total debt stock has gone up by GH¢22 billion within 4 months. From March 2018 to March 2019, it’s gone up by ¢51 billion.

In January this year, the total public debt was $35.7 billion (GH¢176.6 billion) and $35 billion (GHS180.7 billion) for February. The figures represented 51.3% and 52.5% of GDP.

The current debt is inclusive of the $3 billion Eurobond issued by the government in March this year.

The Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, who was speaking at a press briefing said the extent of borrowing marks a betrayal of the trust reposed in the President after he and his then Vice-Presidential candidate promised in opposition not to borrow because according to them, we had all the resources needed to finance our development.

"Not only has the President’s insatiable appetite for borrowing exposed that promise as hollow, it also shows that he and his team do not possess the competence they claimed to have to generate domestic revenue to finance the national budget,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, recently noted that the Akufo-Addo administration will continue to borrow to build the country.

He revealed that it is important for a government who wants its country to grow do the needful to enhance the growth.

“Borrowing is not bad if you have the resources to be able to pay it back and the balance that you achieve. As to where the resources will come from, you scan the international market including your own domestic scene and figure out how you are going to do that,” he said.

He further argued that developed countries like Japan is 300% of debt over GDP, and they are able to do that because they have built infrastructure to be able to generate revenue for that.