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Ghana spent 45% of revenue on interest payments in 2022 – IMF

Ghana spent about 45% of its revenue excluding grants to pay interest payments in 2022, the International Monetary Fund April 2023 Regional Outlook Report has revealed.
This placed the country at the number one position in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The high interest payments was due to the elevated public debt of the country estimated at 575 billion or $44 billion as of November 2023.

Though the government suspended interest payments on some selected external debts, the interest costs of domestic debt was very high.
Now, the interest payments to be paid this year will depend on a successful external debt restructuring with its creditors – bilateral, multilateral and Euro bondholders.
This may lead to suspension of some of the interest payments or extend the maturity period.
The government in 2023 announced it was highly debt distress, leading to a debt restructuring programme.
Meanwhile, Malawi and Zambia placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in Africa with the highest interest payments in 2022.
They were expected to have spent about 37% and 31% of their revenue excluding grants to pay interest payment.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s public debt ratio at 56% of GDP reaches alarming levels
The IMF said sub-Saharan Africa’s public debt ratio at 56 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2022—has reached levels last seen in the early 2000s.
“Since the pandemic, the debt increase has been driven by widening fiscal deficits because of overlapping crises, slower growth, and exchange rate depreciations”, it added.
Furthermore, the Fund said elevated public debt levels have raised concerns about debt sustainability, with 19 of the region’s 35 low-income countries already in debt distress or facing high risk of debt distress in 2022—the same situation reported in the October 2022 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa.
Government spent ¢33.61bn on interest payments in 2021
In 2021, the government spent ¢33.61 billion on interest payments, the Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Report disclosed.
According to the report, domestic interest payments accounted for 78.9% of the total interest payments. Total interest payments, however, constituted about 50.4% of domestic revenue.
News
#NPPDecides: 95% of NPP MPs support Bawumia – Annoh-Dompreh

The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has said that approximately 95 percent of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament have expressed their support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the upcoming Presidential election.
Over 200,000 delegates from across the country are expected to participate in the elections scheduled for Saturday, November 4, 2023.
The exercise, which will elect a flagbearer to represent the party in the 2024 General Elections, will take place in every constituency across all 16 regions of the country.

While expressing optimism about the victory of Dr. Bawumia as the flagbearer of the NPP in an interview, the legislator said: “We know it is a foregone decision, Dr Bawumia is going to win hands down. It used to be around 80 percent. Now it’s moved higher. We are now doing like 95 percent of MPs who clearly believe that we should rally behind the Vice President. We are now hovering around 95 percent. It will even get better on the D-Day, and I think it’s looking extremely good. Our focus now is to ensure that after Saturday, we progress into a united front,” the Nsawam Adoagyiri MP said.
The NPP is gearing up for its presidential primaries on Saturday, November 4.
The four aspirants contesting the flagbearer position have signed an undertaking not to resign from the party if any of them loses the primary on Saturday.
The decision was reached at a meeting between the National Council of Elders and the aspirants.
Dr. Bawumia is the frontrunner in the race, but he faces stiff competition from Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong.
A recent poll by the Institute of Research, Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University found that Bawumia stands a greater chance of winning the upcoming NPP flagbearer race, as he will most likely secure an overwhelming victory in eight regions.
The poll found that 71.1% of NPP delegates believe that Bawumia has a higher chance of breaking the eight-year cycle, while 26.8% of them stated that Kennedy Agyapong stands a better chance.
The other two contestants include the former Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh.
News
Xavier Sosu advocates for modernization of Ghana’s criminal justice system

Human rights lawyer and Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has proposed a reformation of Ghana’s criminal justice system, describing it as archaic.
“Criminal Justice is reforming all over the world and the people who gave us these laws have long reformed these laws and have moved away… So why are we still putting them on our statutes?” Mr. Sosu said.
He further mentioned that keeping these old statutes without reforming them is a form of legal colonialism.

“This is a form of legal neocolonialism because we are carrying on the colonial baggage and unfortunately we are not looking at the peculiar circumstances of our case,” Sosu added
This comes in response to concerns about the amendment of the country’s sentencing regime, including the passage of the alternative sentencing bill.
In an interview with Citi News, the legislator urged the legislature to be guided by the justice systems of developed countries to expedite the passage of the bill.
News
Lady dies during ‘sex marathon’ with boyfriend

A young woman has reportedly lost her life during an intimate encounter with her boyfriend in Ilorin, Nigeria.
The incident has led to the arrest of the boyfriend, a middle-aged man who operates a barbing salon in the area.
According to reports, the said incident occurred at a guest house located in the Temidire community, Offa Garage area of Ilorin on Monday.

Sources in the community say the couple had checked into the guest house for what was supposed to be a leisurely outing.
However, things took a horrifying turn as the evening unfolded. There are unconfirmed reports that the man may have been under the influence of drugs, seemingly in an attempt to impress his girlfriend, before the situation took a dire and unexpected turn.
The tragic chain of events reportedly began when the young woman became fatigued during their intimate encounter, eventually losing consciousness. It was at this point that she became unresponsive and tragically passed away. The man, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately raised the alarm, drawing the attention of the guest house staff.
The staff swiftly reacted by rushing the young lady to a nearby hospital in a desperate attempt to save her life. Regrettably, medical professionals at the hospital confirmed her untimely demise.
The owner of the guest house, in compliance with the law, promptly reported the incident to the Police ‘A’ Division in Ilorin. As a result, the middle-aged man was apprehended by the authorities.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, affirmed the incident and emphasised that a comprehensive investigation was currently underway to determine the exact circumstances that led to the young lady’s tragic death.
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