According to the 2023 budget statement from the Ministry of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s national debt has increased by GH93 billion ($6.53 billion at the current exchange rate) since the start of 2022 due to the depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi alone.
The depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi alone has raised Ghana’s national debt by GH93 billion ($6.53 billion at the current exchange rate) since the beginning of 2022, according to the 2023 budget statement from the Ministry of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The country’s depreciation results from its inability to access the global capital markets as a result of ongoing credit rating downgrades. Further depreciation has also been influenced by tightening domestic financial constraints and rising borrowing costs.
According to Ofori-Atta, the financing of electricity and the increasing demand for foreign exchange to pay for import bills, notably the import of oil, have exacerbated the performance of the cedi and caused a sharp depreciation.
