The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, has admitted that the Debt Exchange Programme is part of a key requirement for the government to get an economic deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to him, the government has no choice but to undertake the debt restructuring programme to put the debt level on a sustainable path.
An IMF mission team is presently in the country to continue discussions with the authorities on the country’s post-COVID programme for economic growth and associated policies and reforms that could be supported by a new IMF lending arrangement.
The Finance Minister, however, reiterated that no individual bondholder will lose their funds in the proposed programme.
Addressing journalists to launch the domestic debt operations he assured the financial sector players of government’s support to minimise the impact of the programme on their activities.
The Minister hinted that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, and other heads of regulators will be tasked to engage stakeholders on the debt management programme.
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Ghana is seeking an economic programme from the IMF to address its balance of payment and other financing challenges.
As part of the deal, the government has embarked on a debt sustainability analysis which indicates that the country’s debt level which exceeded 100% of Gross Domestic Product is unsustainable, hence the need for such an action.
There are already calls on the government to provide a road map to avoid the negative impact on the financial sector and other sectors of the economy.
The Financial Minister pointed out that the World Bank and other development partners are on board to support the government in this regard.
