An increasing number of African states are shifting their debts from concessional to non-concessional commercial sources and their external debts are rising. Ghana is a case in point. Drawing on literature studies and interviews, the article offers a historical explanation to the rise in external debts in Ghana by highlighting political intention of Ghanaian elite underlying their loan-seeking decisions in 1983 and 1992. The paper fills the void of mainstream studies on foreign aid, which mainly focus on political intention of donors rather than recipients. Economic and political reform in 1983 and 1992, respectively, reinforced the path of the elite perspective of external loans as a means for their political survival. As long as the path continues, apolitical commercial loans may not be more conducive to economic growth than concessional loans.