<\/p>\n
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lamented that the international financial structure is skewed against developing and emerging economies like Ghana.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe avenues that are opened to powerful nations to enable them to take measures that would ease pressures on their economies are closed to small nations,\u201d he said at the 77th UN General Assembly meeting.<\/p>\n
President Akufo-Addo also complained that credit rating agencies \u201chave been quick to downgrade economies in Africa, making it harder to service our debts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recently, Standard and Poor\u2019s (S&P) global ratings downgraded Ghana\u2019s foreign and local credit ratings from B-B\u2019 to CCC+C with a negative economic outlook.<\/p>\n
Before this, Fitch had\u00a0downgraded Ghana\u2019s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to \u2018B-\u2018 from \u2018B\u2019 and the outlook was negative.<\/p>\n
Moody\u2019s Investors Service (Moody\u2019s) also downgraded Ghana\u2019s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B3 and changed the outlook to stable from negative.<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s debt was about to hit GH\u00a2400 million in April 2022.<\/p>\n
President Akufo-Addo fears these ratings are prejudiced and pushing developing countries deeper into debt.<\/p>\n
He further described inflation as \u201cthe number one enemy this year\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral African countries have inflation rates surging three to four times higher than what they were just two years ago. In Ghana, we are experiencing the highest inflation for 21 years. The high costs of food are hurting the poor, especially the urban poor, the most.\u201d<\/p>\n