There are growing issues that Ghana could change into extra indebted to China following Beijing’s announcement of a further $50 billion in credit to Africa.
As China is already the most important bilateral creditor to Ghana, there are rising requires the federal government to take instant motion to cut back the nation’s dependence on Chinese language loans.
Talking on the 2024 Discussion board on China-Africa Cooperation, President Akufo-Addo stated, “We additionally worth our relationship with China very a lot. Our relationship with China has been robust for over 60 years.
In reality, I believe we’re one of many first nations in Africa to determine diplomatic relations with China, and ever since then, now we have counted on you as certainly one of our most dependable pals.”
Nonetheless, the China-Africa Heart maintains that China’s engagement with Ghana is pushed purely by financial pursuits and never by the debt entice that critics have feared.
The Heart emphasises that the aim is to search out companions who perceive Ghana’s growth wants, are dedicated, and are prepared to assist tackle the nation’s challenges.
“If we discover that, in these conditions, China can play an element, then why not interact China to construct these sorts of initiatives? So, there is no such thing as a iota of fact to the debt entice concept.
In reality, within the Ghana instance, if you have a look at our whole exterior debt as of 2022, which is about $30 billion, China’s share is about $1.9 billion, or about 6 per cent.
So, if China owns about 6 per cent of our whole exterior debt, how then can we conclude that this 6 per cent is the rationale for our debt and that China is the reason for it?”