Financial Regulation International
Sovereign debt restructuring
Towards a sustainable regime in Ghana
by Shafic Osman
Ghana, once a poster child of fiscal discipline and a success story of debt management, has given the global observers and
stakeholders of the international financial architecture enough cause to reassess that mechanism. In recent times, the president
of the country has called on African countries to establish their own Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs), and on another occasion,
berated CRAs for giving the country poor ratings.
1 This article discusses Ghana's sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) history, demonstrating that despite a long history
of largely complying with the ex ante and ex post rules of sovereign governance, Ghana is once again a debt-distressed country.
It argues that repeated debt distress experienced by Global South countries like Ghana is not solely due to domestic fiscal
indiscipline but an SDRM that works in favour of creditors.