<\/p>\n
Dr. Adu Sarkodie, an economist, hopes the government will target bilateral partners first when working to restructure the country\u2019s debts.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeft to me alone, I think the first people we should deal with are the bilateral loans because it is quite easy,\u201d Dr. Sarkodie said on The Point of View <\/strong>on Citi TV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey understand issues. That is why it was easy for us to get the HIPC [Highly Indebted Poor Country] relief because once you talk to them, these countries are likely to forgive our debt or give us a haircut or understand our situation.\u201d<\/p>\n He estimates that favourable negotiations with bilateral partners could see Ghana deal with 30 percent of its debt.<\/p>\n Though Dr. Sarkodie said there could be mixed results, he believes the backing of the IMF gives Ghana an advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a whole, I think the government will be able [to restructure our debts], especially with the backing of the IMF.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Sarkodie stressed further that Ghana needed the buy-in of bilateral partners \u201cother than that we are doomed.\u201d<\/p>\n An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana have commenced a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis with the IMF for a $3 billion support programme.<\/p>\n