Businessmen and economist, Dr Kofi Amoah, has urged persons and institutions who have been affected by the government’s debt exchange programme to fight the injustice and raw deal that has been handed them.
According to Dr Amoah, it is unconscionable that one of the supposed safest investments – government instruments- can go so horribly wrong that a debt exchange programme has to be instituted.
In a tweet shared on his personal and verified page this week, Dr Amoah said the consequence of the exchange programme is far-reaching and damning.
“Ghanaians must not sit and accept financial injustice from their govt. Everywhere in the world, investing in govt financial instruments is considered the safest investment with the assured payback of investors’ funds.”
Explaining further when contacted by GhanaWeb, the former president of the GFA Normalization Committee said there is a danger of eroding the savings culture of many Ghanaians due to this debt exchange programme.
“Ghana cannot become an outlier in this globally recognized comfort zone unless we want to be counted among the failed and misgoverned countries of the world. There are far-reaching negative consequences for such behaviour.
Govt must choose paying its debt to haemorrhaging individual bondholders over spending billions on some ill-conceived, unsustainable projects calculated to win some legacy points for politicians and their political parties.”
He urged right-thinking Ghanaians to join those affected by this policy to fight against this policy which he says would be detrimental to many people and households.
“When they come for me in the day and you say nothing because it’s not you, they may come for you in the thick of night and no one can see or come to your aid”.
The Habit of Robbing Individuals’ Hard-earned Money to Finance Over-bloated, corruption-laden projects Must be Halted
— CitizenKofi (@amoah_citizen) January 10, 2023
Support Lawyer Kpebu in assisting people get their money taken with force by govt
Govt debts are supposed to be the safest everywhere???????? https://t.co/VLh1JMm9fS
Debt Exchange
On December 5, 2022, the Government of Ghana launched Ghana's Domestic Debt Exchange programme, an invitation for the voluntary exchange of approximately GHS137 billion of the domestic notes and bonds of the Republic, including E.S.L.A. and Daakye bonds, for a package of New Bonds to be issued by the Republic.
In a statement released after the announcement of the debt exchange, the finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta explained why the policy has become imperative.
“The objective is to reduce the excessive burden created by our debt on our economy and reach the debt sustainability targets defined by the IMF staff for the period through 2028 and beyond. In particular, to restore debt sustainability, we plan to reduce our total public debt-to-GDP ratio to 55% in present value terms.”
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