How do you spot an economic crisis from afar? Abandoned building projects are one red flag. So are relentless power cuts. Ghana has plenty of both. Its problems grew more dramatic this month when torrential rain flooded the capital, causing an explosion at a fuel station that claimed up to 200 lives. This was a disaster that Ghana could ill afford. Until a few years ago, the West African country was an economic success story. Yet things have gone wrong under a government that ratcheted up spending on salaries and fuel subsidies just as commodity prices began to fall. The imf came to the rescue in February, agreeing to lend Ghana almost $1 billion. But its problems are far from over.
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