Day: February 6, 2023

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced that the national team’s department has been tasked to contact all Ghanaian players in Turkey to ensure they are safe.

This comes after news broke earlier today that Ghana winger Christian Atsu is trapped in the rubble after the earthquake incident and has not been found yet.

Ghana midfielder Isaac Cofie also experienced the disaster but confirmed he is fine.

The GFA has now also released a statement saying they are liaising with NGO’s to make sure Ghanaian players in Turkey are safe.

“National Teams Department of the GFA has been contacting all Ghanaian footballers within Turkey and Syria to ensure their safety in this difficult moment,” the statement said.

“We will continue to liaise with all authorities and NGOs as we remain hopeful for positive news on all of them.”

Atsu is still unreachable according to Turkish and Ghanaian reports and the rescue team is still working on reaching him and the club director.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian Atsu and our brothers and sisters in Turkey and Syria. We remain hopeful for positive news ????

— Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) February 6, 2023

????National Teams Department of the GFA has been contacting all Ghanaian footballers within Turkey and Syria to ensure their safety in this difficult moment.

We will continue to liaise with all authorities and NGOs as we remain hopeful for positive news on all of them????

— Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) February 6, 2023

Source: Ghana Web

Chief Ex¬ecutive Officer of Ethi¬opian Airlines, Mesfin Tasew Bekele, has advised the government not to interfere in the operations of the proposed national carrier.

According to him, the constant interference of gov¬ernments in the operations of their national airline had led to the collapse of several national airlines in Africa.

“Once airlines are set up, it has to be left alone without any interference to do their business¬es comfortably and manage cost. Any airline that does not manage its cost is doomed to fail,” he explained.

He said this in an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra last Friday.

Mr Bekele noted that the government needed to bolster the leadership that would run the national airline when it was set up.

The CEO expressed the desire in partnering with the govern¬ment to set up a national carrier, saying, “We are ready to support the Ghanaian government in establishing a national carrier but the mode of engagement would need to be evaluated”.

He noted that the airline’s decision to deepen its relationship with Africa and Ghanaians neces¬sitated the increase of its weekly flights from Ghana to other parts of the world from seven to 11 flights.

Mr Bekele hinted at further investment into the airline’s cargo operations as it was the second most important business of the airline since it helped it stay afloat while other airlines collapsed globally.

The CEO expressed worry over the delay in the implemen¬tation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) proj¬ect by the African Union, saying that it would advance the liberali¬sation of civil aviation in Africa.

He noted that the delay of the member countries of the AU to push for the implementation of the project fully was “the fear of it crippling the operations of their local airlines, however such excuse was narrow”.

“SAATM would accelerate the development of the air transport industry in Africa, and also the overall growth and prosperity of Africa, I hope African leaders would take practical steps in en¬suring the project is fully imple¬mented,” Mr Bekele said.

Source: Ghana Web

Former president, John Dramani Mahama, has accused the Akufo-Addo-led government of their lack of efforts aimed at increasing the country’s oil production in the upstream sector over the last seven years.

According to him, greed and ineptitude against national interest have engulfed the current government which has resulted in the lack of development in the oil and gas sector.

In a tweet posted on February 6, 2023, John Mahama said described the development as ‘wasted years’ despite his [NDC] administration handing over two new oil fields [TEN and Sankofa] to the Akufo-Addo government in 2017.

“Wasted years! We bequeathed to the Akufo-Addo government two new oil fields, TEN and Sankofa. Greed and ineptitude as against national interest means a sad reality of no additional production activity in our upstream oil sector in the last 7 years,” John Mahama wrote. Meanwhile, the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) in a recent assessment report on Ghana’s petroleum revenue management spanning a 10-year period showed that an amount of US$31.22 billion in value was generated from three producing oil fields between 2011 and 2022.

PIAC’s report which was released on March 1, 2022, said the generation comprises both entitlements due to the contracting parties and the Ghana Group.

The Ghana Group, according to the report earned US$6.55 billion in total petroleum receipts between 2011 and 2020.

Source: Ghana Web

The only hurdle to the government of Ghana getting the $3 billion it is seeking from the International Monetary Fund appears to be the government’s inability to prove to the Fund that its debts are sustainable.

To do this, the government has come up with the voluntary Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) to deal with its domestic debts. It has also come up with some measures, including the country joining the Paris Club to deal with its international debts (to have the foreign debts delayed or forgiven).

With the DDEP, the government is seeking to restructure approximately GH¢137.3 billion of the domestic debts it accrued through bonds it issued, including the E.S.L.A. Plc and Daakye Trust Plc, and per the requirement of the IMF, 80 percent of the country’s total debts must be subject to this debt exchange programme.

However, the government has been struggling to get the needed stakeholders to sign up for the DDEP to meet the required standard and has extended the deadline for the programme several times.

This article looks at the different times the government has had to extend the deadline for participation in the DDEP and the new offers it made to bondholders.

First announcement of the DDEP programme

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a 4-minute address on Sunday, December 4, 2022, announced a number of measures under the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme.

This announcement was in line with the government’s debt sustainability analysis, as contained in the 2023 budget he presented to Parliament on November 24, and it gave entities up to December 30, 2022, to indicate their participation in the programme.

The minister laid out, among other things, the exchange of existing domestic bonds with four new ones, as well as their maturity dates and terms of coupon payments.

Under this initial offer, for bondholders with bonds maturing in 2023, the government promised four new bonds that were expected to mature in 2027, 2029, 2032, and 2037, and 0% interest in 2023, 5% interest in 2024, and 10% interest in 2025, which will continue till the maturity of your bond.

Initially, the government stated that the programme would affect securities dealers and funds, private banks and investment companies, insurance schemes, pension funds, and non-resident investors, but not individual bondholders.

First extension from December 30, 2022, to January 16, 2023

After fierce resistance from trade unions about the inclusion of pension funds in the DDEP and the lack of enough voluntary participation, the government announced the extension of the voluntary participation in the programme to January 16 with the following modifications:

• Offering accrued and unpaid interest on Eligible Bonds and a cash tender fee payment to holders of Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023;

• Increasing the New Bonds offered by adding eight new instruments to the composition of the New Bonds, for a total of 12 New Bonds, one maturing each year starting January 2027 and ending January 2038;

• Modifying the Exchange Consideration Ratios for each New Bond. The exchange consideration ratio applicable to Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023 will be different from other Eligible Bonds;

• Setting a non-binding target minimum level of overall participation of 80% of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of eligible bonds; and

• Expanding the types of investors that can participate in the exchange to now include individual investors

Second deadline extension from January 16, 2023 to January 31, 2023:

The government on Monday, January 16, extended the deadline for DDEP to Tuesday, January 31, 2023, after resistance by some of the stakeholders involved in the programme, particularly individual investors whom the government promised not to include in the programme.

A press release on the development, issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Finance Ministry, announced some modifications by the government on the invitation to the exchange, including;

Offering accrued and unpaid interest on Eligible Bonds and a cash tender fee payment to holders of Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023;

Increasing the New Bonds offered by adding eight new instruments to the composition of the New Bonds, for a total of 12 New Bonds, one maturing each year starting January 2027 and ending January 2038;

Modifying the exchange consideration ratios for each New Bond. The exchange consideration ratio applicable to Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023 will be different than for other Eligible Bonds;

Setting a non-binding target minimum level of overall participation of 80% of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of Eligible Bonds; and

Expanding the types of investors that can participate in the exchange to now include individual investors.

Extension of deadline from January 31, 2023 to February 14, 2023

The government had to once again extend the deadline for voluntary participation in the DDEP to February 14, 2023, from January 31, 2023, citing its latest offer to individual bondholders.

Even though this time around a lot of groups, including banks, have agreed to participate in the programme, the government still wants to include individual bondholders.

The latest offer includes the exchange of instruments with a maximum maturity of 5 years instead of 15 years and a 10% coupon rate to individual bondholders below the age of 59 to encourage them to participate in the DDEP.

Additionally, all retirees (including those retiring in 2023) will be offered instruments with a maximum maturity of 5 years instead of 15 years and a 15% coupon rate.

The current deal has, however, been rejected by individual bondholders. The individual bondholders, who are pensioners, picketed at the Ministry of Finance on Monday, February 6, 2023, to demand that the government exclude them from the DDEP.

Source: Ghana Web

Treasury bills have again seen an oversubscription of about GH¢500 million in its latest auction on February 3, 2023.

According to the auction results from the Central Bank, the government secured GH¢1.95 billion from the 91, 182, and 364-day treasury bills.

This is GH¢530.83 million away from the GH¢1.423 billion target.

The majority of the subscriptions were from the 91-day bill which secured GH¢1.571.46 billion and GH¢382.37 million from the 182-day bill.

The interest rates however hovered around 35%.

The 365-day bill on the other hand was not part of last week’s subscriptions.

The increase in the subscription is an indication of investor confidence as the government has made some significant progress in the debt exchange programme.

The government reached an agreement with banks to pay a 5% coupon rate in 2023, a development that has made the government’s aim of attaining an 80% participation rate in the program.

Individual bondholders are still calling on the government to exclude them from the programme, however, as the deadline for the invitation draws nigh government is yet to announce their exclusion or otherwise.

However, the deadline for the debt exchange programme is February 7, 2023.

But pensioner bondholders have picketed the Finance Ministry to demand a total exemption from the debt exchange programme.

Source: Ghana Web

The Individual Bondholders Association of Ghana (IBHAG) has expressed displeasure over Finance Minister [Ken Ofori-Atta] defaulting on the payment of maturities and coupons slated for February 6, 2023.

This comes after the Finance Minister and the IBHAG had earlier on verbal grounds agreed to make payments on the maturities and coupons as part of a revised Memorandum of the Debt Exchange Programme.

In a statement issued by IBHAG, the group contends that it demands the Finance Minister [Ken Ofori-Atta] must clarify this apparent contradiction.

“We call on the Finance Minister to clarify this apparent contradiction. If it turns out to be exactly what we have read in the memorandum, that will be a betrayal similar to the vain promises, veiled threats, and inconsistencies of the Finance Minister in the DDE exercise,” the statement said.

“We demand an explanation from the Minister on the memorandum, whilst we serve notice that our patience is waning. We are tired of the Minister’s shenanigans, and we will resort to whatever it takes to protect our health, the education of our children, and our livelihoods, in line with our national anthem, which enjoins us to resist oppressor’s rule,” portions of the statement added.

They further accused the Finance Minister [Ken Ofori-Atta] of being arrogant while reneging on promises made around the Domestic Debt Programme as part of building consensus.

“Meanwhile, he [Ken Ofori-Atta] has remained arrogant, ignoring all advice from his own government, political party, parliament, financial experts, religious bodies, traditional leaders, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) among many others,” IBHAG stressed.

IBHAG in its statement however called on its members to remain resolute and resist the attempts to get them to sign onto the Debt Exchange Programme.

“Our technical and legal teams are assessing the memorandum and will advise on Monday on its implications. Members will be duly informed as to when to activate the next line of action.”

Meanwhile, the group said it would not allow the Finance Minister to use their hard-earned salaries, severance packages, life-long savings, and monies for their health care and children’s education to pay for his recklessness and incompetence.

They also accused him of using his company to serve as a transactional advisor to government’s reckless borrowings while benefiting from the said move.

Source: Ghana Web

The Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has stated that the government’s new terms of the debt exchange have made the programme more complex.

With less than 48 hours to the deadline of the debt exchange programme, Bright Simons has offered a breakdown of the progress the governemnt has made so far.

According to him, banks and insurance companies, upon the agreement reacbed with the government are “hooked”.

However, after the agreement with the government, the new terms of the programme will see interests deferred to after 2025.

Also, old bonds interest that are due on February 14, 2023 have been deferred.

Bright Simons is therefore of the view that since the governement seemed to be in a rush and did not allow for broader consensus, a “majority of pensioners, overseas holders and individual will not sign on”.

“This saga has yielded plenty governance lessons. How the banks buckled so easily for example. How holdouts held on, making this the least successful DDE in world history. And how the govt still got billions in relief with no prior consultations. Ghana must now brace for impact,” he added.

Meanwhile, individual bondholders have stated that despite the ammended terms of the programme, they want a total exemption.

Also, pensioner bondholders picketed the Finance Ministry on February 6, 2023, to demand their exemption from the programme.

Source: Ghana Web