{"id":13451,"date":"2025-10-03T18:37:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T18:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=13451"},"modified":"2025-10-03T18:37:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T18:37:25","slug":"debt-restructuring-was-darkest-episode-of-my-presidency-akufo-addo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=13451","title":{"rendered":"Debt restructuring was darkest episode of my presidency \u2013 Akufo-Addo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"221\" data-end=\"394\">Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described Ghana\u2019s debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework as one of the most painful chapters of his presidency.<\/p>\n<div class=\"google-anno-skip google-anno-sc\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\" aria-label=\"Ghana travel guide\" data-google-vignette=\"false\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\">Ghana entered the Framework in 2023, restructuring $13 billion in Eurobonds and securing commitments that provided $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026. The exercise reduced the country\u2019s debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid-80s to 70.5 percent, boosted investor confidence, and supported an IMF programme.<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"722\" data-end=\"956\">Speaking at the AU-EU High-Level Seminar in Brussels on Thursday, October 2, 2025, on the eve of the AU-EU Summit, the former President said the programme offered short-term economic relief but came at a heavy social and human cost.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"958\" data-end=\"1116\">\u201cI witnessed the suffocating grip of debt on our economy and on our citizens. This deeply troubled me and still does,\u201d he told African and European leaders.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_ad jeg_ad_article jnews_content_inline_2_ads  \">\n<div class=\"ads-wrapper align-center \">\n<div class=\"ads_shortcode\">\n<div class=\"a-single a-10\">He recalled that while the restructuring delivered economic gains, it came at a painful price, particularly for vulnerable groups.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1410\">\u201cThe most painful part was the impact on ordinary people. Pensioners, young people, and small investors saw their lives and livelihoods shattered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1412\" data-end=\"1670\">Turning to the continent\u2019s broader debt challenges, Mr. Akuffo-Addo noted that Africa\u2019s $1 trillion debt burden reflects systemic inequities in global finance. More than 30 African nations, he said, now spend more on interest payments than on public health.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1672\" data-end=\"1850\">\u201cEvery dollar diverted to creditors is a dollar taken from a hospital, from a child\u2019s vaccination, from a community\u2019s future. This is not economics, it is inequity,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1852\" data-end=\"2088\">The former President renewed his call for bold reforms, including immediate debt service suspension, comprehensive restructuring, and new concessional financing. He emphasised that debt relief must be regarded as justice, not charity.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2090\" data-end=\"2183\">\u201cDebt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2185\" data-end=\"2331\">He also proposed a new framework linking debt cancellation to climate action, which he termed\u00a0<em data-start=\"2279\" data-end=\"2328\">Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described Ghana\u2019s debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework as one of the most painful chapters of his presidency. Ghana entered the Framework in 2023, restructuring $13 billion in Eurobonds and securing commitments that provided $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026. The exercise reduced the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123457,"featured_media":13452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3525,41,17],"tags":[908,1737],"class_list":["post-13451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-general-news","category-opinion","tag-akuffo-addo","tag-debt-restructuring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/123457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13453,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13451\/revisions\/13453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}