(Bloomberg) -- Ghana’s government debt surged to the highest in at least four years as the West African nation tries to plug a budget gap that’s higher than projected.

Total debt was at $38.9 billion at the end of March, up 16% from a year earlier and the highest since at least March 2015, when the central bank started publishing these numbers in dollars. As a ratio to gross domestic product, debt rose to 58% in the month compared to 50% a year ago. More than half of that is external loans.

The figures were published as Governor Ernest Addison warned that the nation missed its first-quarter revenue target by almost a fifth, resulting in a higher-than-projected budget shortfall.

Read more about the central bank’s warning on improving revenue collection

While legislation capping the budget deficit to 5% of GDP came into effect last year, Ghana has a track record of missing the fiscal target by wide margins in election years. The country, which will have the fastest-growing economy in the world this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, will have a presidential and parliamentary ballot in December 2020.

“My main concern is that the pace of revenue growth has lagged increasing debt-service cost,” Gregory Smith, a London-based fixed-income strategist at Renaissance Capital Ltd., said by phone. “We’re concerned that fiscal slippages including payment arrears may return as we build up to 2020 election.”

Ghana exited a four-year extended credit facility program with the International Monetary Fund in April, pledging to maintain fiscal discipline without the watch-dog role of the Washington-based institution. The nation raised $3 billion in Eurobonds in March.

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