Accra (Greater Accra Region) 12 Oct 1998 Debt Relief International (DRI), an international NGO, has commended Ghana's debt payment pattern describing it as one of the best in the world.

Debt Relief International helps heavily indebted poor countries to manage their debts.

Dr Mathew Martin, a Director of DRI, said however that as much as one has to pay debt owed to creditors as Ghana is doing, the practice puts a heavy burden of about 50 per cent on national budget revenues.

Dr Martin made these remarks when he reviewed the key issues of Ghana's future debt strategy at a workshop in Accra.

The workshop is part of a series under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Strategy Capacity Building Programme funded by the governments of Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

Officials of the Ministry of Finance put Ghana's external debt ratio at 25 per cent of national budget.

Ghana's external debt stands at 5.6 billion dollars and is expected to rise in the medium term, the officials said.

Dr Martin said when compared to the performance of other countries, especially developing ones, "Ghana is rated as one of the best in the world''.

"Ghana has a good record of paying her debt on time. This, no doubt, comes in competition with the provision of certain basic facilities such as health, education, housing and agriculture."

Dr Martin said "there have not been any arrears in the last few years", adding that ''it is good practice since it holds the country in good stead for future assistance from external donors".

The workshop being attended by 32 participants from the Ministry of Finance and other sector institutions, is aimed at exploring options of freeing resources to fund social services needed for national development. GRi