Fmr. NPP Youth activist, Bernard Oduro Takyi
A former New Patriotic Party (NPP) youth activist, Bernard Oduro Takyi (BOT) has predicted that Ghana’s economy will keep struggling until the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is kicked out of office.
In an interview with Prince Minkah on Dwaboase on TV XYZ, the seasoned entrepreneur and political activist noted that the sector minister has led the country into a debt abyss such that it will be very difficult for a turnaround in the shortest possible time.
His comments come on the back of a series of warnings from financial analysts about the debt situation of the country coupled with high inflation and incessant fuel price hikes triggering hardship in the West African country.
In his submissions, Oduro Takyi intimated that Mr. Ofori-Atta and Mr. Charles Adu Boahen, a Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, directly benefit from the bonds the country issues on the bond market.
He alleged that the two have companies are mostly hired as transaction advisors and book-runners for government loans.
“This is the reason Ofori-Atta is always interested in issuing bonds all the time to get his commission,” B.O.T stated. “That is why we are being suffocated by huge debt as a country.”
According to B.O.T who is also a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute of UK, “Ken Ofori-Atta is the COVID-19 of Ghana” who needs to be kicked out before the economy collapses.
Ghana’s Debt situation
Currently, Ghana’s public debt is now 80.1 percent as of the end of December 2021, crossing the dreaded threshold of economies that can be classified as distressed.
According to the Summary of Economic and Financial data (March 2022), the total public debt has hit GH¢351.8 billion as of the end of last year, an increase by GH¢60.2 billion from the same period in 2020.
Of the total public debt for December 2021, the external debt component is GH¢170 billion, which represents 38.7 percent of GDP, while that of domestic debt is GH¢181.8 billion.
Meanwhile, total revenue mobilised within the period stood at 15.4 percent of revenue, with tax rating registering a paltry 12.6 percent of GDP, far below the regional average.