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President John Mahama has announced a GH¢150 billion cedi reduction in the country’s total debt over the past five months, attributing the improvement to stringent fiscal measures and currency stabilisation efforts.
He disclosed this in his address at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Abidjan yesterday, where he outlined Ghana’s path to achieving debt sustainability.
The President said that the cedi’s recent stabilisation had been crucial in reducing debt valuation pressures.
“Fortunately, I mean, some measures we put in place have recently begun to show results, and the cedi has been strengthening.
And so we have reduced our total debt over the last five months by almost GH¢150 billion, which is very significant,” he said.
President Mahama added that “our debt restructuring programme is 97 per cent complete, with only commercial creditors representing three per cent of debt remaining.
“The progress follows successful negotiations with bilateral lenders earlier this year, which helped lower our debt-to-GDP,” he added.
The President expressed optimism that maintaining the trajectory could see Ghana reach its 55-58 per cent debt-to-GDP target by 2028, or even sooner.
“And once we do that, then it means that the whole debt restructuring has been completed.
But like I said, we need to put any credit that we take or any debts that we take into the most productive parts of our economy so that we can have a rate of return on debts.
“We are prioritising revenue-generating projects, such as tolled highways, where income streams directly service debts,” he said.
President Mahama urged African nations to deepen regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“It's not enough to just have a protocol on continental free trade.
If you don't have the railways, you don't have the highways, you don't have the aviation connections to be able to exchange goods among yourselves; it amounts to nought.
And that's why the investments in railways, in ports, in highways and others are very timely,” he said.
The President revealed Ghana’s strategy to position its ports as hubs of West and Central African trade, leveraging deep-water capabilities to handle large container vessels.
“And I think we must take advantage of that. In Ghana, we have expanded our port, and it's become a hub for receiving some of the biggest ships into our ports because we have a deep draft of almost 16 metres.
And so once we receive containers bound for any country from Namibia, Angola, Cameroon, all the way to Dakar, we can redistribute,” he said.
On cocoa, President Mahama acknowledged persistent trade barriers but said Ghana had increased local processing from 25 per cent to 40 per cent of output.
“From a low of about 25 per cent processed cocoa, Ghana has risen to about 40 per cent.
And I know Côte d'Ivoire is ahead of us. Cote d'Ivoire has done 50 per cent, which is comfortable,” he said.
On structural inequities facing African economies, the President said: "It is the reason why sometimes you notice the world economic order is rigged against Africa."
"We can increase processing overnight, but you have non-tariff barriers in exporting into some of the markets," he said.
President Mahama urged closer collaboration between African nations such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, insisting that regional value chains and unified trade policies could dismantle these barriers.
"The solution lies in our collective action, not in begging for fairness, but in building it ourselves," he added.
President Mahama said AfCFTA was a critical tool for reclaiming Africa’s economic agency.
"When we process our cocoa, our minerals and our cotton together, we create jobs and keep wealth on the continent.
"But we must also confront those who shut us out of their markets with impossible standards.
The world respects strength, not complaints.
It’s time we wield ours," he said.
