Ricketts-Hagan accuses Akufo-Addo government of stalling external debt payments
Kweku Ricketts-Hagan
Former Deputy Finance Minister and Cape Coast South MP, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has accused President Akufo-Addo’s administration of deliberately avoiding the settlement of Ghana’s external debt.
Read full articleRicketts-Hagan suggested that the government intends to delay repayments until the next administration, which he believes will be led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
During a discussion on the impact of the depreciating cedi on business costs on TV3’s Key Points on May 18, 2024, Ricketts-Hagan remarked, “...this is all happening at a time when we are not paying our external debt. We are negotiating that external debt and there is a deliberate attempt by this government not to complete that. Because if we do complete that, we will have to start paying, and once we start paying, the dollar situation will get worse.”
“That is about a third of our debt. So, what they want to do is push this, hoping that an NDC government will come to power and they will push this on the lap of the NDC. Because when we come, we will have no choice but to negotiate that external debt. We will have to start paying one day. If it happens like that, maybe we will be able to have the trust to start a better negotiation than what is on the table,” he further explained,
Ricketts-Hagan also emphasized the need for a fiscal space of up to five years to rejuvenate Ghana’s economy, proposing a fresh loan to create a clean slate and structure a three-year zero-coupon bond with subsequent amortization.
He criticized the current administration's approach, stating, “What they have on the table, they have taken their barber shop there, going to do their usual haircut which these guys are not buying. Because when we come, we will have no choice but to negotiate that external debt.”
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