[ 2015-05-02 ]

Ghana nowhere near HIPC - Stanchart boss
Ghana is not close to becoming a highly indebted
poor country, a top official of Standard Chartered
Bank has said.

According to Razia Khan, who is the Managing
Director, Head, Africa Macro Research, Standard
Chartered Bank, the economy of the West African
country may be struggling, but key indicators show
that Ghana has chalked a lot of successes in other
areas.

The John Mahama-led administration has gone for
over $900 million bailout from the International
Monetary Fund to salvage the ailing economy as the
local currency continues to fall against major
international currencies.

Khan has advised the government to maintain fiscal
discipline in order to arrest the financial
deficit the economy is going through.

Inspite of the challenges, she said the
oil-producing country stands tall among her
peers.

“For example, in the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), Ghana has done far better than some
of its peers and better results to show for some
of the spending it embarked upon than other peers
in the region,” the Stanchart boss said at the
2015 Standard Chartered Bank African Summit under
the theme: “Africa is Rising”.

Khan, however, raised concerns about the rising
debt and deficits in running the budget.

“These Treasury Bills have to be rolled over
frequently and the kind of interests to be paid on
such debts is even higher than the growth of Gross
Domestic Product. If the interest rate you pay on
your borrowing is higher than your GDP growth
rate, then there is no way you can reduce deficit.
The IMF deal gives Ghana the opportunity to make
the difference,” she opined.

She noted: “Ghana is making progress, and is in
the right direction but there is no easy way out
for the country out of the fiscal challenges.”

Source - Starrfmonline

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