Martin Kpebu leads over 200 individual investors who do not want haircut to engage government

Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, is leading about 200 individual investors who do not want any haircuts on their matured investments to engage the government.

Their engagement with the government comes after the government included individual bondholders in the debt exchange programme.

According to a report on myjoyonline.com, he added that there will be a lawsuit against the government if the negotiations fail.

 "Government cannot be allowed to use its might to impoverish Ghanaians," he said.

On December 25, the government modified its GHC 137.3 billion domestic bond exchange programme to include individuals, as part of efforts to restructure its debt. 

This is to secure approval from the Management and Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion loan-support programme to address Ghana’s current economic crisis. 

A release issued by the Finance Ministry and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Saturday noted that in addition to the foregoing extensions, the government was "expanding the type of investors that can participate in the exchange to now include individual investors."

Other modifications to the debt exchange programme included the setting of a non-binding target minimum level of overall participation of 80 percent of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of eligible bonds.

The release also said that: "offering accrued and unpaid interest on Eligible Bonds and a cash tender fee payment to holders of Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023."

There would also be eight new instruments in the composition of the new bonds, for a total of 12 new bonds, one maturing each year starting in January 2027 and ending in January 2038.

 NYA/WA