President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (CPE), Franklin Cudjoe, has asked President Akufo-Addo, not to pat his shoulders for paying billions of coupons to bondholders as he said during the presentation of the State of the Nation address (SONA) Tuesday.
According to Mr. Cudjoe, the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme which delayed the payment of bondholders’ funds was instituted by the President himself, saying “if you deliberately kill your mother and later make a billion dollar contribution towards her funeral, you don’t deserve praise but outright indignation and opprobrium.”
In a post made on his Facebook, sighted by OnuaOnline, the President of IMANI made comparative analysis of the economic figures attained by the Akufo-Addo administration from when they took over and now, and concluded that he cannot worsen a situation and asked to be applauded for making it good.
“I liked the confidence with which President Nana Addo told us that his government has paid billions in coupons to bondholders. He also compared economic data not with the opposition NDC’s tenure, but during his own tenure, when all the macro economic numbers reached astromically dizzying heights of 54% inflation, nearly 40 % lending rate and innumerable killer taxes, to what certainly does look like a respite now with inflation around 23% , although taxes have increased in number and value with the highest unemployment rate in a generation with 75 % of Ghanaians financially stressed (Old Mutual study)” he wrote.
He was explicit that “the President and his government deserve no praise in both scenarios. The government supervised debt exchange program occasioned the suspension of coupon payments with most debts restructured amidst wicked financial haircuts. If you deliberately kill your mother and later make a billion dollar contribution towards her funeral, you don’t deserve praise but outright indignation and opprobrium.”
President Akufo-Addo during the presentation of the State of the Nation address Tuesday, February 27, 2024, indicated that despite the government’s debt restructuring programme which affected payment of bondholders’ fund, government was able to pay in a single day, the highest amount of coupon ever by any administration in history.
DDEP: Sophia Akuffo says programme is a throwback of military rule
Find below the President’s statement:
Mr. Speaker, a year ago, I also stated the decision to undertake a comprehensive debt restructuring of our domestic and external debt to ensure we remain resolute in our objective to restore macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth.
The decision was not an easy one, considering the complex and diverse domestic debt landscape. We had to consider safeguarding the financial 12 sector, preserving social and economic conditions, and protecting our domestic debt market. A year on, I am happy to inform you, Mr. Speaker, that we have made significant progress.
We requested an unprecedented number of bondholders to participate in a voluntary exchange, and we were able to exchange successfully some two hundred and three billion cedis (GH¢203 billion) worth of bonds. Not only was the exchange successful, but it helped us to secure, within five (5) months, the shortest possible time in recent debt restructuring history, a Staff Level Agreement to an Executive Board Agreement with the IMF. My gratitude goes to all financial sector players, organised labour, firms, regulatory institutions, and all individuals who made this painful exercise successful.
Mr. Speaker, as you may recall, Government successfully paid the first coupon of two-point-three billion cedis (GH¢2,369.67 million) on the new bonds on 22nd August 2023. At the time, that was the single biggest payout of domestic payments in a single day for Ghana.
We, then paid two billion and sixty million cedis (GH¢2,060.72 million) for the last leg of the domestic debt exchange on 5th September 2023. A week ago, last Tuesday, on 20th February 2024, the second coupon of five-point-eight billion cedis (GH¢5,847.72 million) was paid to domestic bondholders. This is the largest coupon paid in a day in Ghana’s history.
Domestic Debt Exchange: Ken Ofori-Atta opens up on second round of programme
