On Friday, November 13, 2026, Sir Sam Jonah delivered the Second General I.K. Acheampong Memorial Lecture in Accra, lauding the 1972 decision to repudiate roughly US$90 million in suppliers’ credits that the Acheampong government deemed tainted by corruption, fraud or inflated contracts. He described the move as an act of courage and a demonstration of negotiation skill, noting that the phrase “Yentua” – meaning “we will not pay” – captured the nation’s response.
Jonah said the repudiation forced creditors to return to the negotiating table, ultimately leading to a rescheduling agreement in Rome in 1974 that set the debt at a 2.5 percent interest rate with an extended grace period. He contrasted this deliberate stance with Ghana’s suspension of payments in December 2022, arguing that the earlier episode reflected a strategic negotiating position while the latter was a default born of an inability to meet obligations.
“In 1972 the slogan was Yentua: we will not pay. In 2022 the honest slogan would have been Yentumi: we cannot,” Jonah added. He called for renewed discussion on Ghana’s debt management, economic sovereignty and the lessons that can be drawn from past dealings with creditors.
