Ghana has struck a preliminary IMF deal and halted debt payments
Pain and hope loom in equal measure
Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s finance minister, is fond of invoking scripture in speeches on the economy. Recently, as the country defaulted on its domestic debt, he found solace in the first book of Samuel saying “nothing will be lost, nothing will be missing.” Yet the Bible is a poor guide to macroeconomics. Holders of domestic bonds stand to lose a good chunk of money. Now foreign creditors are getting a buzz cut, too. On December 19th Ghana suspended interest payments to foreign creditors, in effect defaulting, pending talks.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Finding faith in the fund”
From the December 24th 2022 edition
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