Government is set to pay a staggering $8.7 billion in external debt and GHC 150.3 billion in domestic debt service obligations by in the next 2 years, according to Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.

Speaking during the presentation of the 2025 fiscal budget in Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, the Minister highlighted the heavy debt repayment burden Ghana faces in the coming years, with 2027 and 2028 expected to be the most challenging.

"Mr. Speaker, the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme has resulted in huge domestic debt service payments. Over the next four years, the country is expected to pay about GH¢150.3 billion, representing 11.6% of GDP in domestic debt service obligation alone, of which 73.3% is due in 2027 (GH¢57.6 billion) and 2028 (GH¢52.5 billion)," he revealed.

Dr. Forson described the debt repayment spikes in 2027 and 2028 as a serious economic challenge.

"The debt service obligations of 2027 and 2028 are major humps. These humps are cancerous and pose significant risks to the economy" he noted.

Beyond domestic liabilities, Ghana is also expected to service $8.7 billion in external debt over the next four years, which accounts for 10.9% of GDP. A large portion of this—$2.5 billion in 2027 and $2.4 billion in 2028—will fall due within the same critical period.

"Mr. Speaker, beyond domestic maturities, Ghana faces significant external debt service obligations over the next four years totaling US$8.7 billion, representing 10.9% of GDP, with heavy concentration in 2027 and 2028. Again, 55% of the total external debt service of US$8.7 billion is due to be serviced in 2027 (US$2.5 billion) and 2028 (US$2.4 billion)," he stated.

Despite these fiscal challenges, the Finance Minister noted that projected revenue for 2025 is expected to increase by 20.0%, while projected government expenditure is set to decline by 3.6% compared to 2024.

These heavy debts anticipated to be settled in 2027\2028 have been blamed on the careless implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) implemented by the former government. He believes the debt restructuring was deliberately “It seems the debt restructuring undertaken by the previous administration was designed to be 2027/2028-heavy”.

This he says is as a result of the former government's failure to build buffers to cushion these debt service burdens.“Mr. Speaker, in spite of all these upcoming domestic and external debt service obligations, no buffers were built to cushion these unprecedented debt service burdens.

Amid all of these challenges the Dr Forson assured that steps will be taken to address these debt challenges and stabilize the economy in the coming years.

“We shall fix it!” a major slogan used by the Finance Minister during his budget presentation yesterday.

About DDEP

The Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) was initiated by the Akufo-Addo government in 2023 as part of Ghana's broader debt restructuring strategy under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. The primary goal of the DDEP was to address the country's economic challenges and restore fiscal stability.

The program involved restructuring domestic debts, which included issuing new bonds with different terms to replace existing ones. This move aimed to reduce the debt burden and create a more sustainable debt profile for the country.