Deputy Finance Minister corrects Abena Osei Asare’s inaccurate claim on external interest payments

Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has corrected a misleading claim made by former Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Abena Osei Asare, regarding Ghana’s external interest payments.

During the closing statement on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review debate in Parliament, Deputy Minister Nyarko Ampem addressed assertions made by the former Minister of State, who had claimed that Ghana’s external interest payments had increased by GH¢1 billion despite the appreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

“If the cedi has appreciated against the US dollar, external interest payment should come down. It has rather increased by GH¢1 billion,” MP Abena Osei Asare had argued.

But the Asuogyaman MP, speaking on behalf of the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, described the claim as “totally incorrect” and proceeded to correct the record using data from the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review.

“Appendix 2C of the Mid-Year Statement indicated under external interest payment that out of the GH¢3,972,429,055 that was programmed to be paid within the first half of the year, GH¢3,793,095,347 was paid, resulting in a savings of GH¢179,333,708 as a result of the cedi appreciation,” the Deputy Minister stated.

He stressed that these savings are significant, adding that it is enough to build about 200 six-unit classroom blocks across the country, including in Atiwa East, the constituency of Abena Osei Asare.

To further clarify the misunderstanding, Nyarko Ampem explained that the upward revision in external interest payments, by GH¢795 million, as stated in Paragraph 428 of the Mid-Year Review, was not caused by exchange rate pressures.

Instead, it was to account for “additional debt service due on post-cut-off date disbursements on bilateral loans that the previous administration made in 2023.”

The Deputy Minister also responded to another statement by Osei Asare, in which she suggested that the Mid-Year Review was full of technical jargon and failed to reflect real impacts on the lives of Ghanaians.

Rejecting that assertion, Mr Nyarko Ampem stated that the presentation by Finance Minister Dr. Ato Forson was among the most simplified for the average Ghanaian to understand.

He outlined real and measurable improvements in the economy over the past six months, including:
• A reduction in inflation from 23.8% to 13.7%;
• A decrease in petrol prices from GH¢14.72 to GH₵12.23 per litre;
• A boost in monthly allowances for assembly members, including those in Atiwa East;
• Improved and timely payments to LEAP beneficiaries;
• And significant cuts in import duties.

“These and many more are the real occurrences in the economy that the Ghanaian people can feel,” the Deputy Minister concluded.