According to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Chinese presence in the Ghanaian economy is not an issue.
In challenging circumstances, China has proven to be a dependable partner, according to President Akufo-Addo.
He made this statement in response to an IMF study on Ghana for the year 2023, which warned that if Ghana is unable to pay its debt of $1.9 billion, China may seize control of the nation’s natural resources and energy income.
Speaking in Doha at the Qatar Economic Forum, Nana Akufo-Addo claims that Ghana has benefited from China’s investment.
“Well, I don’t have any criticisms about Chinese involvement in the Ghanaian economy. They have been very helpful, it’s a matter of controversy in the West. For us, they have been friends and in terms of difficulty they have proven to be a strong partner,” President Akufo- Addo pointed out.
Since the year 2000, China has lent a lot of money to Ghana. For significant projects like roads, bridges, and power plants, the nation has borrowed around $5 billion from China over the course of two decades.
These loans have assisted Ghana in developing its economy and infrastructure. But they also left the nation heavily indebted. Ghana is trying to pay off its debts, which total more than $30 billion in external debt.
However, there have been complaints that the terms of the Chinese loans are unfavorable to Ghana. Ghana’s ability to pay back its loans has become much more challenging due to the present economic crisis.
A few days ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorised a $3 billion loan for Ghana to aid with economic stabilisation.
The IMF financing is simply a temporary fix, though. Ghana must find a long-term solution to lower its debt load. This calls for a combination of debt forgiveness from its creditors and economic changes.
Ghana is hardly the only nation dealing with debt problems. Many developing nations are dealing with comparable issues.
