Preview

Dropping the Debt in Ghana

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
637 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dropping the Debt in Ghana
The amount of debt in this world is rapidly rising and spreading. However, some countries have been facing this problem for a greater period of time. Ghana is a heavily indebted country and is gradually trying to redeem itself. A once proud nation and has been lost in the vast issue of debt that controls it. In the 15th Century the Portuguese arrived and found a large quantity of gold. After many years of being known as ‘Gold Coast’, this developing country became independent on 6th March, 1957 and was named Ghana. The Government wanted to invest money in industry, better living standards, education, health, dams and roads. All these improvements would help Ghana to expand faster. The only problem was that the country was not wealthy enough to complete these changes so they needed to borrow money. At the time, this did not need to cause concern, many countries took out loans and Ghana was offered low interest rates known as a soft loan. This meant less money was added to the original figure so Ghana would be losing a smaller amount. The government borrowed money from many different suppliers such as the World Bank, IMF, high street banks and even other governments. Repayments were going as expected until the 1970s when interest rates rapidly inflated. Ghana was now not getting the original interest rate offered and had to pay back more. This was soon followed by the price of cocoa, one of Ghana’s main exports, to fall. At this point Ghana was struggling as they were giving out more money than what was coming in.

Today the people of Ghana are suffering from the consequences of repaying so much debt. When governments in indebted countries spend over a ⅓ of their money paying off debt you can imagine the problems. One of which is education, even though the standards of schools has dropped the parents of pupils now have to pay for their Childs teaching. There might be only one teacher for over 50 students, occasionally when this teacher fails to attendant

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    (1888 PressRelease) The Global Banking Financial Crisis 's and Its Impact on Developing Nations: Case Study Africa.…

    • 3195 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life and Debt, a documentary by Stephanie Black, with a commentary written by Jamaica Kincaid, looks at the effect of the International Monetary Fund on the economy of Jamaica, the third world country that was once colonized by the Great Britain. The film has offered the audiences different voices on this issue including the IMF officers, the Jamaican farmers and former Jamaican president as an overview to the issue The former president of Jamaica Michael Manley has been out of power for many years, yet his bitterness over his ouster and his country's subsequent decline remains palpable. His take on the primary cause of Jamaica's descent into hell is most interesting, considering the current conjuncture. The crisis of the early 1970s forced his government to take out loans to cover the rising expenses of fuel-based imports, from fertilizer to gasoline.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ike1 Task 2

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages

    | * The future of Africa depends on what the current generation does at current. Meaning that the impact of no education within Africa can lead a continuous effect of poverty and what is most important is breaking that cycle positively by educating today’s generation to break the line of poverty…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    When Jamaica was granted its independence from Great Britain, the tiny nation lacked sufficient economic strength to survive on its own. Throughout the time Great Britain ruled over the island, she had taken Jamaica’s ample natural resources in the name of the Crown. Economically, when a nation does not have enough natural resources to survive, the situation turns very bitter in a short amount of time. Jamaica soon realized they were not able to finance what was needed to meet the needs of its citizens. Jamaica sought financial assistance through the private banking system, but was denied repeatedly. The country had no choice but to resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to borrow money from. The IMF’s role is that of a “helping hand.” As per Jamaica and the IMF’s agreement, the IMF established a five-year plan with Jamaica. This included the placement of stringent restrictions on what the tiny nation could spend the money on. As the Jamaicans slowly realized, this deal would serve them no purpose, except indebting the nation even further. The island was forced to cut certain government programs and devalue their currency to meet IMF demands. Jamaica was…

    • 2053 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States of America is recognized by many people as the land of many opportunities. The United States of America is the country where many people from all over the world would want to begin a new chapter of their lives. Although, America is known for providing opportunity, it also carries a heavy load of deficit of its own. The I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation under Stress, in Debt is a film that unfolded the four deficits that can potentially expose a danger to the country and its people. The four main deficits are budget, savings, trade, and leadership.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although Ghana is rich in raw materials and precious metals, it is still a Less Economically Developed Country (LEDC). There are many different reasons ranging from the environment and climate to their debt problem.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Capitalism is an economic and political system where a country’s commerce and industry is dictated and controlled by private owners. In many developing countries, capitalism can lead to foreign corporations penetrating and taking over different markets and squeezing out the local entrepreneurs. Ghana which is official known as the Republic of Ghana is a west African country with abundant natural resources. These natural resources are a target of international commerce, corporate investments, and exploitation by the developed nations. In this essay, I will examine the relationship between the Unites States of America and the Republic of Ghana focusing on investments and trade.…

    • 2135 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The national debt is increasing day by day, and the federal government is struggling to tackle it. As of now, the national debt has comprised to 18 trillion dollars. Americans and economists are concerned about the national debt, and the effect it will have in the country and even the world. As President George Washington once stated, “To contract new debt is not the way to pay old ones”, which is what seems to be happening recently. Debt needs to be addressed as a national issue along with the factors that contribute to its negative and positive traits .…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    results of the debt. It is a look at both the factual causes and the arguments…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The capacity of the country to develop is greatly undermined by debt crisis because the country is always involved in the repayment of the principle loans of the interests. This is a significant outflow of capital to finance debts. Excessive debt, burdens the poor nations since they are forced to drain away all the resources meant for development in order to finance their debts. Underdevelopment is worse when the money borrowed is embezzled hence ending up in private pockets which leads to the whole country repaying what they never used. The economy of the country is also undermined since all the sectors of the economy including health sector, education sector, agricultural sector, tourism sector and other sectors are compromised for the country to repay back the debts.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: 2. Sachs D, 1989. Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance: The international financial system. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press…

    • 3683 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ndikumana, Léonce and James K. Boyce (2003): Public Debts and Private Assets: Explaining Capital Flight from Sub-Saharan African Counties, World Development, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 107-130.…

    • 9816 Words
    • 40 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    This paper will discuss the benefits of debt cancellation as formulated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In addition, further analysis outlined herein will answer the question as to whether the debts of 18 very poor countries were indeed cancelled as projected during the 2006 IMF annual meeting. Also, agricultural pricing policies will be discussed herein.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Davies, Omar. 1986. The Debt problem in Jamaica: situation and solutions. Mona, Jamaica: University of the West Indies, Dept. of Economics.…

    • 6097 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    DEBT FOR RICH COUNTRY

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    First of all, when established country collects its debts, it can support another country in need. This support can help this country in a different ways. Not all poor countries need money, sometimes thay also need support. For example, a country may need help with projects or support for its infrastructure. But these ways do not return this money to the government of poor country because this money is spent for paying bills or providing services to the people. Actually, the best way to help poor countries is to invest inside these countries to help them to make more money for itself. For example, building factory or establishing companies. So, now it has money to return to the rich country it borrowed from.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays