The Minority caucus in Parliament is demanding an immediate suspension of the government’s Debt Exchange programme.

The caucus believes the programme is not well-structured, and thus a suspension will allow government to consult more.

Addressing a news conference on Monday, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said the programme in its current form will severely affect bondholders already bearing the brunt of economic difficulties.

He’s also worried about the negative impact the programme could have on the financial sector if implemented.

The debt exchange programme was introduced in December 2020 as part of measures to rebuild the economy. It is also to help government secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Government has proposed that all bondholders will not receive any interests on their bonds for the 2023 financial year.

The payment of dividends, according to government, is likely to begin next year, 2024 at a discounted rate of 5%. Bondholders who may want to transfer their bonds will not get the full principal they initially invested as bonds.

But the proposal has been rejected by many bondholders considering the negative impact it will have on their finances.

Government extends deadline for debt exchange programme to January 31

Meanwhile, government has extended the deadline for the programme to January 31 to allow for more stakeholder engagement.

A tweet by the office of Finance Minister on Monday said there is the need to rally consensus towards a successful implementation.

“Building consensus is key to a successful economic recovery for Ghana.

“Pending further stakeholder engagement with institutional and individual investors, recently invited to join the debt exchange programme, government is extending the expiration of the DDE to Jan 31, 2023”, the tweet said.

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