Who finances the majority of government spending in Ghana?
Ghana, like many other poor countries, is heavily dependent on foreign donors. A large proportion of its social expenditure is financed through multilateral, bilateral and international NGOs. Foreign direct investment is practically non-existent and multinationals – who are often seen by NGOs as the bad guys – are notable in their aversion to locate or do business in Ghana. The inadequate assistance that richer nations give Ghana is readily apparent in the fact that Ghana receives more money from Ghanaians working overseas (known as remittances) than it does from all of the external donors, creditors and investors combined. Foreign direct investment is even less than the peanuts offered at Gleneagles, and Ghana’s international Diaspora scrapes together over ten times the amount provided by G8 or its multinational corporations.
