Professor Hanke Slams Ofori-Atta: “Instead of Recognising Mismanagement, He's Blaming Creditors”

• Professor Steve Hanke has said Ghana's finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta is wrongly blaming international lenders for his inability to secure loan agreements to solve the country's debt crisis
• He feels the manager of all of Ghana's finances should first recognise the monumental mismanagement under his watch
• Ghana is facing an unprecedented debt crisis under the current Nana Akufo-Add government that experts fear threatens to undo decades of economic progress and development

Professor Steve Hanke of the US-based John Hopkins University has taken a swipe at Ghana's under-pressure finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta for failing to admit self-inflicted causes of Ghana's debilitating debt crisis.

In one of his scalding tweets on Ghana's economic challenges, the fierce critic of the Nana Akufo-Addo government said Ghana's finance minister seems oblivious about the causes of the country's economic challenges.

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"As 33 African countries suffer from record debt burdens, Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is disappointed that foreign lenders had been 'slow to act.' Instead of recognizing MISMANAGEMENT, he's blaming the CREDITORS for Ghana's debt burden," he tweeted on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

Prof Hanke, an erudite Applied Economist, is popular for this his critical tweets about some governments in Africa and others across the globe.

Ghana secures staff-level agreement on $3bn IMF deal

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on December 12, 2022, that Ghana has reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms as the country begs for $3 billion in loans to deal with a catastrophic debt crisis.

The three-year loan arrangement will be under an Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

"The authorities’ strong reform program aims at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, preserving financial stability, and laying the foundation for strong and inclusive recovery. To support the objective of restoring public debt sustainability, the authorities have launched a comprehensive debt operation," the IMF said in a press statement on the agreement.

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Every Ghanaian now owes GH¢17,445

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that Ghana's public debt reached GH¢575.7 billion as of November 2022.

This represented 93.5% of GDP, in what many experts fear is a dangerous situation for the country's economy.

The new public debt figures published by the Bank of Ghana on Monday, January 30, 2023, mean that every Ghanaian citizen owes GH¢17,445.

The public debt figures also show that external debts have reached GH¢382.7 billion, representing 62.1% of GDP.

Ghana’s debt crisis could mirror Greek scenario, says expert

Also, finance expert Haruna Alhassan has said Ghana's debt situation makes the country's economic prospects uncertain.

The analyst at Centre for Social Justice, a think tank, said Ghana's debt crisis could mirror the Greek scenario of 2010 that took close to a decade to fix.

Alhassan said Ghana's road to economic recovery would be long and difficult starting in 2023.

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Source: YEN.com.gh