The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana, after meeting to examine the strength of the economy has released a statement stating that the total debt stock of the country as at the end of 2017 stands at GH¢142.5 billion.

The figure according to the committee added that the debt stock is an indication that the GDP of the country has shot up to 70%.

According Specialists, the figure is alarming for the country while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described it as a risk or highly distressed country.

Comparing the last statement which was released in November 2017, the debt stock of Ghana had gone up by GHC3.5  billion while the external debt at the end of December stood at $17.2 million.

It also indicated that domestic debt stood at  ¢66.7 billion, representing a Debt-to-GDP ratio of 32.7 percent, an indication that the country may have carried out more external borrowings over that period.

In the current year, the government plans on borrowing GHC 11 million in the first quarter of the year as per the issuance calendar with the Finance Ministry planning to raise GHC 9 billion for roll over maturities, while remaining ¢2.1 billion, which is being described as fresh cash or borrowing to meet government’s financing needs.

However, the amount to be borrowed in the first quarter is less when compared to that of 2017 in its first quarter.

The  borrowing target for this quarter is ¢6.3 billion less than the 17.4 it took in the first quarter of 2017 although some have argued that this decline has been influenced by the lower deficit for this year, compared to 2017.

Ghanaguardian.com