Investors may die of shock over Ofori-Atta’s debt exchange program – Economist

Economist Menson Torkunoo has said local investors with bonds who will have to bear the brunt of the government’s domestic debt exchange program may die of shock from the amount of cuts on their investments.

The government has announced modalities of a domestic debt exchange following the conclusion of Debt Sustainability Analysis as part of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In line with the programme, domestic bondholders are to exchange their instruments for new ones, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said in a televised announcement on Sunday.

According to him, existing domestic bonds as of 1st December 2022, will be exchanged for a set of four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032, 2037.

Commenting on the announcement, the economist told Starr News that the government has lied to Ghanaians on the purpose of the E.S.L.A and Daakye bonds. 

“We don’t have an honest government. This is very sad. I tell you honestly people are going to die as a result of this announcement. I am telling you the facts. Because this is the same way this same government spent about 25 billion Ghana cedis to wipe away or to rationalize between seven to nine billion they have alleged to have caused by banks,” he stated.

Mr. Tukornu underscored the situation where the nation’s economy is heading to ground zero has never happened in the history of the country.

The economist added that he cannot fathom the dire situation could warrant “bonds holders, especially domestic ones, to sacrifice their hard earned investment to enable the government to recover. It has never happened before. In my few years as a Ghanaians who has a little bit of the economy. I am really sad.”