Political Risk Analyst & Economist, Dr. Theo Acheampong wants government to do more in in the communication of its Debt Exchange Programme.
As part of Ghana’s moves to secure a support-Programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on Monday launched a Debt Exchange Programme to protect the investment of investors.
Throughout the week, there has been conversations on the Programme with concerns that despite the launch of the Programme many Ghanaians are losing their investments.
Amid the concerns and fears, Dr. Theo Acheampong is blaming the government for not doing much in terms of communicating the issues to the general public.
“Part of the reason why people are pushing some of the proposals away is that it doesn’t come across as though the burden is being equitably.
“Communication around Debt Exchange has not been carefully thought through,” Dr. Theo Acheampong said in an interview with Joy News on Saturday, December 10.
According to him, it is important that the government takes key decisions to support the various financial institutions.
“It’s really a question of the devil and being caught between the deep blue sea, and you have to make provision one way or the other to help the financial institutions.
“The government hasn’t carried the people along and been able to explain it,” Dr. Theo Acheampong added.
Under the Debt Exchange Programme announced by the Finance Minister, domestic bondholders will be asked to exchange their instruments for new ones.
Existing domestic bonds as of 1st December 2022 will be exchanged for a set of four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032, and 2037.
The annual coupon on all of these new bonds will be set at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024, and 10% from 2025 until maturity whilst coupon payments will be semi-annual.
Source: Modern Ghana
