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Finance Minister, Seth Emmanuel Terkper has disclosed that Ghana�s public debt currently stands at GH�52,125.91 million. The figure, he said is the right amount of the country�s debt status as at the end of the December 2013, which implies that several loans contracted by government in the first quarter of this year have not been included. �The country�s total public debt which stood at GH�35,999.64 million [US$19,150.78 million] as at the end of December 2012, increased to GH�52,125.91million [US$24,021.16 million] at the end of December 2013,� Mr. Terkper said in the budget review to Parliament yesterday. Out of the total public debt stock, external debt was GH�21,545.72 million [US$11,461.71 million] while domestic debt amounted to GH�27,132.7 million [US$12,559.45 million,] representing 47.72 per cent and 52.28 per cent of total debt, respectively. He further indicated that the total public debt stood at 55.77 per cent as at end of December 2013, representing an increase from the December 2012 ratio of 48.03 per cent. �The increase in the public debt was largely on account of the issuance of Eurobond and disbursement for major infrastructure projects such as the Bui Dam, the Ghana Gas Project, the Coastal Protection Projects, and the redevelopment of the Police Hospital,� he said. Agric tops GDP The agricultural sector once again topped in growing the country�s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of year [2014. According to minister of finance and economic planning, Seth Terkper, Ghana�s �GDP grew by 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, down from 9.0 per cent in the corresponding period in 2013.� The sector led others with a growth of 12.7 per cent as against 6.7 percent in the equivalent quarter in 2013. Growth He stressed that the Services Sector followed with a growth of 4.6 per cent compared to 10.4 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2013, while the Industry Sector contracted by 1.1 per cent compared to its growth of 8.1 per cent growth in the corresponding period in 2013. Information from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) for the first quarter indicated that the performance of all activities in the 1st quarter of 2014 compared with the 1st quarter of 2013 by economic activities showed that livestock production rather expanded by 24.7 per cent with fishing activities increasing by 20.0 per cent. Financial and Insurance activities, Community, Social and Personal activities, and information and communication went up by 19.7, 10.7 and 10.3 per cent respectively. Economic activity in the crops and cocoa sub-sector reflected a positive growth of 0.8 per cent in the 4th quarter of 2013. This was attributed to the seasonal nature of produce in the sector. GDP Meanwhile, the overall GDP for 2013 grew by 7.1 per cent against the target of 8.0 percent. The finance minister said the growth signifies a robust and strong performance especially when compared to the Sub-Saharan average of 4.9 per cent and global average of 3 per cent for 2013. �Even though the 2013 GDP growth rate was lower than projected, both the real and nominal GDP values were higher than projected. The real GDP in 2013 was GHȻ32,507 million against a target of GHȻ32,109 million for the year,� he indicated. He also stated that inflation for 2013 was 13.5 percent against the target of 9 percent within the band of �2 percent and 9.2 percent in 2012. Inflation He blamed the high inflation rate mainly on the �account of cost push pressures emanating from frequent adjustment of petroleum and utility prices, higher transportation costs, and the pass through effect of exchange rate depreciation.� According to Mr. Terpker, the Cedi generally traded weakly against the currencies of the major trading partners during the review year. �In the Inter-Bank Market, the Ghana Cedi recorded cumulative annual depreciation of 14.6 per cent against the US dollar during the review period. This is lower than the 17.5 per cent annual depreciation recorded in 2012. �The Ghana Cedi recorded relatively higher depreciation of 16.7 percent and 20.1 percent against the Pound Sterling and the Euro, respectively, in 2013,� he told parliament. World Bank Upgrade The finance minister told Members of Parliament (MPs) that, the World Bank has again started the process of upgrading Ghana to a �blend� status, according to him �will make us [Ghana] eligible to access the resources of both the International Development Agency (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) at the same time.� He however noted that these developments have limited the country�s options to access �concessional loans and grants from development partners.�