DDEP: Ken Ofori-Atta to appear before parliament on February 16

Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been scheduled to appear before parliament on Thursday, February 16, 2023, to give details of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, made this known on Friday, February 10, 2023, when he presented the Business Statement for the coming week to the House.

This comes after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin’s ruling, following calls by MPs to summon the finance minister to furnish the House with details of the programme.

The MPs, earlier this week, argued that it is unacceptable for parliament and the general public not to have been furnished with the full details of the DDEP, a situation they say continues to fuel anxiety about the exercise.

MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had earlier noted that the government is acting contrary to what the finance minister had promised in the 2023 budget, announcing the details of the debt exchange programme before its implementation.

The failure, he said, has led to some challenges in its implementation, including the recent picketing by affected pensioners and individual bond holders at the ministry.

“Ghanaians are genuinely concerned about their life savings and investments, and this House is yet to be briefed. We have not debated this programme and yet the Ministry of Finance is going ahead to implement this debt exchange programme which they say is a condition for the ongoing IMF engagements.

“The Minister of Finance must appear before us and we must debate and agree exactly what should be the nature of this Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, who should be exempted and the implications – what are the full ramifications on the Ghanaian economy and on the affected citizens who are currently living in anguish, in pain and great anxiety,” he said.

NYA/AE