Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said Ghana’s debt restructuring under his government shattered lives.
Akufo-Addo revealed that the debt restructuring deeply troubled him and still does.
According to Akufo-Addo, the debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework was the most painful chapter of his presidency.
It will be recalled that Ghana, under Akufo-Addo in 2023, restructured $13 billion in Eurobonds and secured commitments that provided $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026.
The debt restructuring reduced the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid-80s to 70.5 per cent and also boosted investor confidence, and supported an IMF programme.
Akufo-Addo noted that the programme offered short-term economic relief but came at a heavy social and human cost.
Speaking at the AU-EU High-Level Seminar in Brussels on Thursday, October 2, 2025, on the eve of the AU-EU Summit, Akufo-Addo stated, “I witnessed the suffocating grip of debt on our economy and on our citizens. This deeply troubled me and still does”.
“The most painful part was the impact on ordinary people. Pensioners, young people, and small investors saw their lives and livelihoods shattered,” he said.
Akufo-Addo also turned his attention to the African continent’s debt challenges.
Mr Akufo-Addo highlighted that Africa’s $1 trillion debt burden reflects systemic inequities in global finance.
“Every dollar diverted to creditors is a dollar taken from a hospital, from a child’s vaccination, from a community’s future. This is not economics, it is inequity,” he stated.
“Debt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice,” he declared.
Akufo-Addo pleaded, “To our European partners, I say this: hear the voice of your neighbouring continent. Stand with the AU and South Africa’s G20 Presidency to advance ambitious reform of the Common Framework”.
The sacrifices we make today, the compromises, the collaborations we engage in today can only inure to the benefit of our world. When Africa rises free from the weight of debt, the whole world rises with it,” he added.
Akufo-Addo also proposed a Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience, a new framework linking debt cancellation to climate action.
Also, the minority in parliament has asked for forgiveness from Ghanaians after the introduction of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) under the former NPP government.
It will be recalled that the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government introduced the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) as part of its plans to deal with Ghana’s severe fiscal crisis.
The DDEP left many Ghanaians, notably pensioners, enduring considerable financial losses due to haircuts on their investments.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament during the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review on Thursday, July 31, Alexander Afenyo-Markin stated, “The NPP devised solutions: the Energy Sector Levy Act to systematically pay down energy liability, the Fiscal Responsibility Law, capping the deficit at 5% of GDP, and the Debt Exchange to restore sustainability”.
“These are actions of a responsible government, and we are proud that we took these decisions, not reckless ones. Again, we take responsibility, we say sorry to Ghanaians, we had to take a painful decision [DDEP] to implement this,” he said.
According to Afenyo Markin, the current NDC government is benefiting from the NPP’s legacy of stabilising Ghana’s grave economic situation without giving credit to the Akufo-Addo government.
The minority leader added, “You’re taking advantage of this painful decision without giving credit to us. Who is a hypocrite in this matter? You are the one found wanting, and indeed, you are the political naysayers; you engage in double standards and engage in political hypocrisy.
“The NPP cleaned up a grave situation, and now the new administration touts the clean-up floor as if it were their own accomplishment. What have you put in place? None,” he critiqued.
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Debt restructuring was my darkest hour; lives were shattered – Akufo-Addo
— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) October 3, 2025
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