Interest on GH¢113m road debt has ballooned to GH¢665m

The Roads and Highways Minister-designate, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has revealed alarming figures regarding the country’s debt obligations.

Speaking during his vetting by the Appointments Committee on Monday, January 20, Agbodza disclosed that the government is leaving behind a minimum of GH¢113 billion in commitments.

He highlighted that one of the most pressing concerns is the GH¢20 billion in unpaid certificates.

Mr Agbodza emphasised that this figure presents a significant challenge for the incoming administration, noting that it represents a substantial burden on the state’s finances.

However, the most concerning figure he pointed out was the interest on this debt, which has ballooned to a staggering GH¢665 million.

Mr Agbodza attributed this to the nature of the contracts associated with the debt, which have evidently accumulated substantial interest over time.

The Minister-designate called for urgent attention to this matter, expressing his concern over the growing financial strain.

He stressed the importance of addressing these unpaid certificates and the high interest rates in order to prevent further fiscal challenges for the country.

“At the transition committee as of today, the NPP government is leaving a minimum of GH¢113 billion commitments. What we should be worried about though is that in that same document, they are saying that certificate unpaid as of today from the Government of Ghana amounts to about 20 billion and more worrying is that the interest on this GH¢113 is GH¢665m due to the nature of the contracts.”

source: citinewsroom.com