Govt misreported debt-to-GDP ratio for political reasons – MP

Obuasi West MP Kweku Kwarten has accused the government of colluding with the Bank of Ghana to manipulate economic figures for political reasons.

His accusation follows a revelation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 71 percent rather than the 55 percent quoted by the Central Bank and the government.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is the ratio between a country's public debt and its gross domestic product (GDP).

A low debt-to-GDP ratio indicates an economy that produces and sells goods and services sufficient enough to pay back debts without incurring further debt.

If the IMF figure is true, then it means Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio has surpassed the international threshold of 60 percent.

Kwarten told private FM station, Citi, Friday that he is not surprised about the revelation. He said the misreporting of the figures could be calculated for political purposes.