Ghana's external debt drops - but long-term debt increases

Ghana's external debts including obligations to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dropped by 90 million dollars to 5,885 million dollars at the end of the second quarter, figures from Databank Equity Reserach made available to the GNA have indicated.

This was due to sharp decreases in short and medium term expenditure pattern of the country which put current debt stock for the period at 5,945 million dollars.

Long term debt rose by 30 million dollars to 5,417 million dollars in the second quarter of this year.

"The increase in long terms debt was due to an increase in bilateral and multilateral debts accrued in the second quarter."

Bilateral debt went up from 1,574 million dollars to 1,591 million dollars while multilateral debt increased from 3,812 million dollars to 3,826 million dollars.

The proportion of short and medium term loans in the country's total loan portfolio declined from five per cent and six per cent respectively in the fourth quarter of year 2000 to three per cent and five per cent in the second quarter of 2001.

Long term debt soared from 89 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year to 93 per cent in the second quarter of 2001.

The study noted that "the changing portfolio of external debt is an indication of a shift in government's external borrowing style from short and medium term to long term financing."