Ghana's economic crisis looms over impending elections

Maxwell Akalaare Adombila - Reuters - 02/12
After serving in Ghana's police force for over three decades, pensioner Emmanuel Amey-Wemegah had a clear retirement plan: invest part of his pension benefits in government bonds, complete the construction of his house, and buy a car.
  • Africa's top gold producer to hold general elections
  • Economy, jobs, and infrastructure are top concerns
  • Debt crisis and cost-of-living weigh on voters' minds
DABALA, Ghana, Dec 2 (Reuters) - After serving in Ghana's police force for over three decades, pensioner Emmanuel Amey-Wemegah had a clear retirement plan: invest part of his pension benefits in government bonds, complete the construction of his house, and buy a car.
All was going according to plan until Jan. 6, 2023, when he received a call from his bank that Ghana was restructuring bonds he held.
"I started sweating," said Amey-Wemegah, 63, recalling the uncertainty and fear that gripped him and other bondholders.
The retired chief inspector is one of thousands of Ghanaian private, corporate and foreign investors whose investments in government securities were restructured in 2023 for Ghana to obtain a three-year, $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout to deal with its worst economic crisis in a generation.
As over 18 million Ghanaians prepare to vote in a presidential election on Dec. 7, Amey-Wemegah's plight reflects the economic anxiety gripping many in the West African country - the world's number two cocoa producer. Jobs, education, and infrastructure are also key issues.
During the current authorities' tenure, Ghana's economy buckled under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, higher global interest rates and years of excessive borrowing.
Public debt rose from 63...
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