“The total public debt has increased from GH¢122 billion, which is 69% of GDP to GH¢291.6 billion, which is 76.1% of GDP, as of the end of December 2020,” Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu has revealed that Ghana’s debt stock now stands at GH¢291.6 billion as of December 2020.

According to him, if expenditures were to be excluded, the debt stock would have been GH¢239.9 billion, which would have been 58.7% of GDP.

Kyei -Mensah Bonsu who is acting as the caretaker Minister of Finance reading the 2021 budget statement and economic policy of the government in Parliament on Friday, March 12, blamed the debt stock on some non-recurrent burdens.

He said “Included in the debt stock and the debt to GDP ratio are the following non-recurrent burdens that we had to deal with as a matter of urgency; the physical impact of COVID-19, which is GH¢19.7 billion, the cost of the financial sector clean-up, which is GH¢21 billion, and the cost of excess capacity charges paid to IPPs, which is also GH¢12 billion.

“If these expenditures are excluded and the drop in GDP growth in 2020, primarily attributable to COVID-19, is taken into account, the total stock of debt for 2020 would have been approximately GH¢239.9 billion, implying a dent to GDP ratio of 58.7%.”