Prominent media figure in Ghana, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah, well known by his media pseudonym KKD, has expressed concern over the discussions between the Chinese government and the minister of finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the settlement of Ghana’s loans.
He asserts that Ofori-Atta will never ask for Ghana’s debts to be cancelled, hence the idea that he will is completely false.
In an interview with Onua TV on Wednesday, KKD stated that Ofori-concessions Atta’s in his private discussions with the Chinese government are what Ghanaians should be concerned about.
“China is only focused on its own development. It is developing so much, so that, no matter how sophisticated you are, you will come to them for some technology, you will come to them to produce your goods and you will come to them to borrow.
“I heard that Ofori-Atta said he is going to China for bilateral talks. You are going to beg and you are saying you are going for bilateral talks.
“You think the Chinese are fools? They are not going to cancel our debt. They will take something for whatever they have given us. Now the question is; what are we giving China behind closed doors for them to forgive our debts,” he said in Twi.
According to Asaase radio, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, left Accra for China on Sunday (March 19, 2023).
The success of Ofori-travel Atta’s to Beijing will depend on his ability to negotiate a settlement for the restructuring of Ghana’s bilateral loans with the Asian economic giant.
Even though Ghana is requesting a US$3 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of the primary requirements has been the requirement to restructure both domestic and external loans.
China, which holds around $1.7 billion of Ghana’s $5.5 billion bilateral debt, is a significant factor in terms of the country’s external borrowers.
According to the Ghana Business News portal, which was cited by Ghanaweb.com, Ghana cannot include them in the model used to negotiate with the G20 and the Paris Club members due to the specialised nature of their lending windows.
Mid-February was the initial date for negotiations with China; however, that date has been moved to late March 2023.
