Ghana in 2016 made sweeping changes to the management of public finance with the passage of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), and in 2019 developed the Public Financial Management Regulations (L.I.2378). Consistent with section 20 (1) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) and Regulation 20 (3) of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) whilst drawing an overall legal framework from the 1992 Constitution, the Ministry of Finance has outlined the processes and procedures for the 2023 Draft Budget Statement and Economic Policy. As a recent graduate of MSc Development Finance Program, you have been asked by your organization (Ghana Cares, previously known as Smart Borrowing Inc.) to make input into the 2023 budget statement and economic policy of the government. Your organization has been concerned about the rising public debt which tends to escalate during crisis moments (see the 2012-2015 energy crisis, 2016-2019 financial crisis, and now Covid-19 towards the end of 2020) and elections as evidenced by 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 as well as currency valuation effect. These have weakened the immune system of the economy reflecting dwarfed revenue mobilization and elevated expenditure translating into greater borrowing. You noticed that in 2019 alone, the currency valuation effect alone added approximately GHS 15 billion to the public debt, and your organization is concerned the rising public debt will affect the governments ability to deliver on 2020 promises it made to Ghanaians in order to win over the electorates and the countrys ability to recover from the outsized adverse distributional effect of Covid-19 on our economy and society. The government has placed a call to the International Monetary Fund for a Fund Supported Program and there are concerns the countrys current debt level may affect the IMF-supported program and cause it to achieve limited effectiveness.

Management has scheduled 22^nd September 2022, at exactly 6 pm to hear your inputs before it is submitted to the Honorable Minister. It is expected that your presentation or input will highlight policies government can adopt to manage the rising public debt, and the key risks associated with public debt management whilst drawing the attention of political parties to the implication of the monetization and commercialization of Ghanas elections for macroeconomic stability. In addition, management is interested in knowing how the local currency will perform during the first quarter of 2023.

Management considers that your performance should not exceed 50 Marks and a score of 25 Marks is required to avoid the second hearing of your input.

Your presentation should highlight the following building blocks as required

a. Discuss the risks associated with the rising public debt in Ghana and under each risk discuss key strategies that can be adopted to manage those risks. (5 Marks)

b,Discuss five implications of the rising public debt for private sector competitiveness in the face of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). (10 Marks)

c. Would you encourage the government to engage investors for possible long-term debt restructuring whilst it engages the IMF