World Bank cautions Ghana on rising debt

The World Bank has cautioned Ghana against its rising debt, which it says has the tendency to stifle the country’s economic growth and deepen poverty.

Ghana’s debt currently stands at GHc43.9 billion (49.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) at the end of August 2013.

Presenting the economic strides for countries in the African sub-region at a teleconference beamed from Washington in the United States of America (USA) to Accra, the Deputy Regional Chief Economist of the World Bank Africa Region, Mr Francisco Ferreira, attributed Ghana’s rather high financial deficit to an increase in the country’s infrastructure development and pro-poor programmes.

The economy of Ghana is still facing liquidity challenges, with both revenue receipts and expenditure falling below their targets, nine months into the year.

The only exception is compensation for workers, which has overshot its target by 2.2 per cent, but Mr Diop indicated that the country could take charge of the situation if it improved its macroeconomic output.

Source: Daily Graphic