Story by George Yawson Vineh
The government of Ghana has formalized a debt treatment agreement with its Official Creditors Committee (OCC) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
At a press conference on Wednesday, January 29, Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson says the signing of the MoU has saved the country an amount of 2.8 billion dollars in debts serving.
The agreement, co-chaired by China and France is a milestone that comes after Ghana, in December 2022, suspended portions of its external debt servicing to commercial and bilateral lenders amid a deep economic crisis.
At the time, inflation had jumped to a staggering 54%, while international reserves had plunged to less than two months of import cover.
The nation embarked on a comprehensive debt restructuring journey, including the successful completion of its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) in 2023.
A year ago, on January 12, 2024, Ghana reached an agreement with its Official Creditors under the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments, going beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
However, it has taken another year to finalize and formalize the terms through the MoU.
“With the MoU now signed, the agreed terms will be implemented through bilateral agreements with each OCC member,” Mr. Ato stated .
According to the International Monetary Fund’s December 2024 report, Ghana is set to benefit from a substantial debt servicing relief of approximately $2.86 billion.
Of this amount, an estimated $657 million is expected to be realized within 2025, providing much-needed fiscal space for economic recovery.