Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has appealed to creditors of vulnerable economies for debt relief to enable these debt-distressed countries to continue to protect the lives of their citizens against the coronavirus pandemic as well as rescue their economies from difficulties occasioned by the pandemic.
Speaking last Friday at a Virtual plenary session of the Development Committee (DC) of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund(IMF), Mr Ofori-Atta, who has become an advocate for debt forgiveness and cancellation noted that the dire impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable economies calls for an economic rescue, stressing that debt relief will be key in getting these economies back on track.
The coronavirus pandemic has slowed down economies of the world, especially those of developing countries that were already reeling under the weight of huge debt.
The emergence of the pandemic forced these vulnerable economies to run to the IMF and World Bank for emergency funds so as to meet the basic needs of its citizens following lockdowns and restrictions on movement that had led to decreased economic activity. This has compounded an already bad situation.
Without debt forgiveness and cancellation, many countries, including Ghana, will struggle to meet their debt obligations.
Already, Ghana has been classified as a country that is debt distressed, meaning urgent steps have to be taken to cut down on further borrowing. But with less economic activity caused by the ravaging virus, cutting drastically on borrowing may be difficult.
