Ghana asks devt partner creditors to freeze interest payment on $8.5bn

• Feb 23, 2023

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has appealed to Ghana’s development partners (DPs) to allow the country to suspend the payment of interests on about $8.5 billion owed to them for a minimum of three years.

Mr Ofori-Atta also pleaded with the bilateral and multilateral creditors to assure the country that they will support its development efforts with grants for the period that it will be unable to borrow from the international capital market.

In attendance at the meeting today were ambassadors and high commissioners of the country’s top creditor nations and representatives from international development agencies, a source in government told Graphic Online.

The source said China and its agencies, which hold more than 30 per cent of the country’s bilateral debt, was not in attendance. 

A special meeting has been scheduled in Beijing for Mr Ofori-Atta and Chinese creditors later this month on the same issue, it said.

Cancellation

The source also explained that the country was not requesting debt cancellation from any of its creditors but was asking for suspension and a reduction in interest to be able to pay up.

It described the meeting as well attended and positive towards securing a pathway for Ghana to restructure its external debt of about $28.4 billion to be able to secure approval for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.