Former Deputy Minister of Finance and Cape Coast South MP, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has accused President Akufo-Addo’s administration of deliberately stalling on external debt payments to burden the next government, which he predicts will be led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
During a discussion on TV3’s Key Points on May 18, 2024, Ricketts-Hagan claimed that the government is intentionally prolonging debt negotiations to avoid immediate repayments, which would worsen the cedi’s depreciation.
He criticized the current debt relief negotiations, stating that the government aims to leave the issue for the NDC to resolve if they come to power.
Ricketts-Hagan argued that Ghana needs a fiscal space of up to five years to stabilize the economy and urged for a complete renegotiation of the country’s external debt rather than following the IMF’s current prescriptions, which he believes are insufficient.
“The problem of our currency now and of economy, is not about how much hair cut you get, but it is actually about how much space you get within the next three to five years. So, the proper solution is to renegotiate our debt by refinancing the whole international bond market and get a fresh start. A fresh loan that will give us a clean slate and structure a bond that will give us a three-year zero-coupon bond and start some amortisation that will be going up,” he explained.
Mr Ricketts-Hagan stressed that “What they have on the table, they have taken their barber shop there, going to do their usual hair cut which these guys are not buying. Because, these are seasoned negotiators. So, what they want to do is push this, hoping that 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.