Economic Governance Platform launches IMF Bailout Dashboard, Public Debt Tracker

The Economic Governance Platform (EGP), with the support of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), has launched separate online Public Debt Tracker and IMF Bailout Dashboard to enhance transparency and accountability in Ghana’s economic management.

The two online platforms launched last Thursday also aimed at providing citizens with real time insights into the country’s debt situation.

Speaking at the launch, the Coordinator of Economic Governance Platform, Abdul Kareem Mohammed, emphasised that debt had been a recurring factor in Ghana’s economic crises, often leading to IMF bailouts.

However, discussions on public debt are often too technical, leaving ordinary citizens unaware of the country's financial trajectory.

“If you look at the conversation around debt, it tends to be very technical, at a very high level, and citizens, I mean, it is not broken down to the level that ordinary people can understand” he said.

Importance

He added that the newly launched platform broke down Ghana’s debt structure into easily understandable components for comprehensive understanding.

"As you can see on the platform, we are breaking down information. You have an idea of the total national debt; which component is domestic an which ia external.

And even when you take the domestic down, it breaks it down; what constitutes the domestic debt as well as the external debt.

And with this, it should give us a clear sense of where the nation's debt situation is at any point in time," he said.

Mohammed further emphasised that access to this data should empower citizens to hold leaders accountable.

"That should empower us to be able to ask the right questions as to where the nation is heading, so that we don't get to crisis points before citizens wake up from our slumber.

We must hold our duty bearers to account to manage things in a more sustainable way," he said.

In addition to tracking debt, Mohammed indicated that the platform would serve as a tool for recommending policy actions.

"We are also making other recommendations in terms of steps that governments can take to strengthen the various state institutions, as well as some of the loopholes in the laws governing our public finance management, so that they can enhance the management of our public finances," he said.

Functions

The Public Debt Tracker provides real-time updates on Ghana’s debt situation, including a breakdown of domestic and external debt. It tracks debt servicing costs, interest payments over time, and key economic indicators such as inflation and borrowing instruments. 

Additionally, it features a historical timeline of Ghana’s financial crises, highlighting moments when the country declared bankruptcy and efforts made toward debt sustainability.

The IMF Bailout Dashboard offers an overview of Ghana’s IMF-supported economic programme, detailing the $3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and its objectives; macroeconomic stability, debt sustainability and economic growth.

It outlines the conditions set by the IMF, including fiscal consolidation, debt restructuring, public financial management reforms and utility tariff adjustments. 

The dashboard also provides performance indicators such as inflation rates, international reserves and GDP growth, enabling users to monitor Ghana’s progress in meeting IMF targets.