Majority Leader Assures: “The Economy is Securely Managed”.

Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has assured Ghanaians that the country’s economy is being effectively managed. He expressed confidence in the government’s ability to navigate economic challenges, emphasizing that those in charge possess the necessary expertise to revitalize the economy.

“The economy is in the hands of those who have the power to bring it back,” Afenyo-Markin stated on the floor of Parliament following the mid-year budget presentation by Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam on Tuesday, July 23.

During his presentation, Dr. Amin Adam revealed that Ghana’s provisional total debt stock stood at GH¢742 billion (approximately US$50.9 billion) as of June 2024. This figure represents 70.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“The stock consists of external debt of GH¢452.0 billion and domestic debt of GH¢290.0 billion, representing 60.9 percent and 39.1 percent of the total debt stock, respectively. As a percentage of GDP, external and domestic debt represented 43.0 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively. This indicates an increase of 22 percent due to the effect of cedi depreciation and continuous disbursements from creditors,” Dr. Amin Adam explained.

He further reassured Ghanaians that the government is adhering to its budget and has successfully controlled expenditures to remain within the 2024 Budget Appropriation. He also noted that the government had exceeded the midyear revenue target by 0.2 percent by the end of June 2024.

“In effect, Mr. Speaker, we are living within our means. Indeed, consistent with our programme with the IMF, we are on course to achieving a primary surplus of 0.5 percent of GDP by the end of the year.”

Dr. Amin Adam highlighted several key achievements:

• Successful conclusion of the second review of the Extended Credit Facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), resulting in the disbursement of the third tranche of US$360 million, bringing total disbursement to about US$1.6 billion.
• Completion of the Debt Restructuring programme with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), covering US$5.1 billion and resulting in approximately US$2.8 billion of debt relief, meaning no debt service to official creditors from 2023 to 2026.
• Concluded negotiations with Eurobond holders, covering US$13.1 billion, leading to the cancellation of US$4.7 billion of debt and providing debt service relief of US$4.4 billion between 2023 and 2026.
• Concluded negotiations with five of the seven Independent Power Producers, resulting in savings of approximately US$6.6 billion over the lifetime of the Purchasing Power Agreements (PPAs).
• Cleared all outstanding Bank Transfer Advice (BTAs) up to 2022 and working to pay BTAs from 2023.
• Embarked on major reforms of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), especially those in the Energy and Cocoa sectors, to ensure fiscal prudence and reduce their budgetary risk.