Dr Sharif Mahmud Khalid is the Economic Policy Advisor to the Vice President

The Economic Policy Advisor to the Vice President, Dr Sharif Mahmud Khalid, has stated that the government is not planning to re-enter the international capital markets anytime soon.

According to him, the recent update by Fitch is not a signal to return to fiscal indiscipline, but rather a testament to the fact that the government's reforms are driving the economy toward recovery.

Fitch recently upgraded Ghana’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating from ‘Restricted Default’ to ‘B-’ with a Stable Outlook.

Dr Khalid emphasised, “This rating is not just for us to celebrate and go back to borrowing. We are not getting bullish. We are focused. We want to stabilize the domestic market first.”

He further explained that despite the improved rating, Ghana is not yet ready to return to the external market.

“This is for the external market, which we are not ready to engage with at this point. We believe in stabilizing the domestic market, which is why we have internal controls in place,” he added.

Dr Khalid reiterated, “We’re not here celebrating. We are building. And we’ll continue to keep our eyes on stabilizing the Ghanaian economy.”

Meanwhile, some analysts have also advised against Ghana’s re-entry into the international capital market, noting that the country is still under a $3 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and is not expected to re-enter the market until after 2026.

SSD/MA