By Elorm Desewu
The free fall of the cedi from the beginning of this year has added some ¢93.8 billion to the public debt stock.
This has affected government’s ability to effectively manage our debt, said the Finance Minster, Ken Ofori Atta.
The provisional debt data as at end September 2022 shows a significant increase in Ghana’s public debt largely due to exogeneous factors.
The end-September 2022 provisional figures indicate that total gross public debt stood at GH¢467,371.31 million or US$48,871.34 million, representing approximately 75.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The domestic debt component was GH¢195,657.60 million, which is 31.79 percent of GDP, whilst external debt is GH¢271,713.71 million, representing 44.15 percent of GDP. The increase in the domestic debt is largely on account of rising interest costs. Domestic debt as a share of total public debt reduced from 51.6 percent in 2021 to 41.9 percent as at end September 2022.
The external debt as a percentage of the total debt stock is 58.1 percent as at end September 2022. The sharp growth in the external debt stock is largely driven by the depreciation of the local currency. The depreciation of the Ghana cedi added GH¢93,855.15 million to the external debt stock.
Overall, debt accumulation increased from 20.7 percent in 2021 to 32.7 percent as at end September 2022, reflecting the impact of the depreciation of the Ghana cedi on the external debt side.
