Ghana gov’t urged to increase credit ratings

A financial analyst and CEO of SEM Capital, Dr. Sam Mensah, has said that Ghana needs to raise its credit ratings as an alternative to facilitate any form of borrowing especially on the capital market. He made the assertion during a roundtable discussion organized by the Danquah Institute and partnered by the World Bank and Citi FM on the three billion Chinese loan facility, which has been contracted by the Ghana government for various development projects. Mr. Mensah said: “The challenge of being an oil economy is that you should be able to translate that into a higher rating. "Our rating is less than investing grade. You have to be able to use your oil economy to get a better rating. ” He explained that “the better rating is being able to borrow money at lower interest rates and you can borrow more. ” Ghana’s Parliament approved the loan facility between government and the China Development Bank (CDB) to finance agreed infrastructure development project under the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA). Ghana is currently rated B+ by Filch while Standard and Poors rates the country B. Meanwhile, the World Bank which had cautioned Ghana to ensure that the loan facility is used for the projects it is intended for, said it is prudent for the country in future to concentrate more on the viable use of the loans rather than otherwise.