Cedi Depreciation Grows Public Debt By 22% To GHS 742bn At End-June 2024 – Finance Minister
Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has disclosed that provisional total central government debt at the end of June 2024 stood at GH¢742.0 billion, which is equivalent to 70.6 percent of the country’s GDP.
This represents a 22.0 percent increase since the end of December 2023 when central government debt stood at GH¢608.4 billion.
The increase in public debt the Minister posited, is primarily due to the depreciation of the cedi and disbursements from creditors.
“Central government debt as at end-June 2024 stood at GH¢742.0 billion, equivalent to 70.6 percent of GDP. This indicates an increase of 22.0 percent due to the effect of the Cedi depreciation and disbursements from creditors,” he quipped.
Dr. Amin Adam made these remarks during the presentation of the 2024 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Tuesday, July 23.
The GHS 742bn debt stock the Finance Minister noted, is comprised of GH¢452.0 billion in external debt and GH¢290.0 billion in domestic debt, accounting for 60.9 percent and 39.1 percent of the total debt stock, respectively.
As a percentage of GDP, external debt represents 43.0 percent, while domestic debt accounts for 27.6 percent.
At the end of December 2023, the provisional central government and guaranteed debt in nominal terms was GH¢608.4 billion.
This included GH¢351.1 billion in external debt and GH¢257.2 billion in domestic debt.
The Finance Minister acknowledged the challenges posed by the rising debt levels and reiterated the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and sustainable debt management.
He noted that the government is implementing measures to stabilize the cedi, enhance revenue mobilization, and control expenditures to mitigate the impact of debt on the economy.
