The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has maintained the policy rate at 14.5 percent.
The Committee left the rate at which it lends to commercial banks the same for the five-time since the second quarter in 2020.
But Ghana’s total public debt stock has risen to 74.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) representing GH¢286.9 billion at the end of November 2020.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) made this known on February 1, 2021, comparing the amount with 62.4 percent of GDP (GH¢218.2 billion) at the end of December 2019.
“The elevated fiscal path has impacted the stock of public debt which rose to 74.4 percent of GDP (GH¢286.9 billion) at the end of November 2020 compared with 62.4 percent of GDP (GH¢218.2 billion) at the end of December 2019,” the Bank said in a news release.
It added that “Of the total debt stock, domestic debt was GH¢147.3 billion (38.2 percent of GDP), while external debt was GH¢139.6 billion (36.2 percent of GDP).”
According to the release, total liquidity increased significantly during the year driven by the government’s fiscal stimulus program, the complementary monetary policy measures
implemented during the year to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the monetization of government bonds to pay depositors in the SDI sectors, as well as the central bank’s purchase of a GH¢10 billion COVID-19 bonds issued by the government.
In a related development; The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Addison has been given four-year tenure in office, pending the approval of the yet-to-be constituted Council of State.
Dr. Addison’s current tenure in office will end at the end of March 2021.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora