100-year $50bn bond worrying – Economist

Economist Professor John Gatsi has described as worrying plans by the Akufo-Addo government to issue a 100-year bond worth $50 billion to a long-term funding for critical national projects.

Speaking during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing President Akufo-Addo disclosed that the Finance Ministry was working to float the century bond to raise resources needed for infrastructure and industrial development of the country

“The Ministry of Finance and economists in Ghana are looking at floating a $50 billion century bond. This will provide us with the resources to finance our infrastructural and industrial development,” said President Akufo-Addo.

Speaking on Starr Midday News Monday, Professor Gatsi entreated government to engage critical sectors of the Ghanaian economy and political sectors to guide it on the issuance of the unusual century bonds.

He said, “You cannot entangle the future of the country with 100-year borrowing when you have a four-year term. That cannot be something that we should appreciate.

“You can raise bonds of about 10 years and 30 years that is manageable. But if you are going to raise $50billion over a 100-year period with a mandate of four-year without engaging the people of Ghana to appreciate that we have a long-term development plan that’ll drive us…it’s about engaging stakeholders to agree on it.”