The Director of Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, Professor Peter Quartey, is cautioning the government against the rising debt on the domestic market.
According to him, the government must be careful not to breach its debt sustainability level since it would trigger another downgrade of the country’s credit rating.
Speaking in an interview with Joy Business, Professor Quartey, advised the Finance Minister to constantly monitor the country’s debt level in the money market in 2024 to avert a setback under the $3 billion International Monetary Fund programme.
“I must say this should be the last time; it’s a very painful exercise and I don’t think that any investor will be happy to go through this painful exercise again.
“As we continue to borrow and now that we are borrowing more from the money market – treasury bills etc. – we are piling up debt and we should be careful not to breach the debt sustainability threshold again. Because that has had severe implications on the economy and we need to guard against this”, he explained.
He warned that the global financial situation is still unstable, adding, other African countries are struggling to repay their debt.
“Other African countries are also making time; Kenya is struggling, Ethiopia is struggling and has been downgraded”.
“ I’m happy we’ve gone through this exercise but never again”, Professor Quartey added.