Debt exchange programme should be suspended immediately – Ato Forson proposes broader engagements

The ranking member on parliament’s finance committee, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has asked the finance minister to halt processes for the commencement of the debt exchange programme immediately.

According to him, the programme is currently facing resistance due to the lack of proper stakeholder engagements prior to its announcement.

He stated that countries that have succeeded in employing the programme to solve their debt issues engaged properly.

“I think the matter is one that we should be interested in as legislators and learning from where it has happened before, it is obvious that this is the first time an African country is going through domestic debt restructuring, but it has happened in the last three years in two different countries, Jamaica and Greece.

“So we can learn from best practices. What surprises me most is that the Jamaican example has been touted as the best because of the engagements it went through before the final decision was made,” he said according to myjoyonline.com reports

According to him, if the current resistance to the programme continues, it may not be beneficial to the government in its quest to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund.

“Ghana had an option to learn from best practices where proper engagement was done but today in Ghana’s case, we are complaining of lack of engagement.

“So I think the time has come for us to call on the Finance Minister to immediately suspend Debt Exchange Programme and engage further. I think Ghana will need a proper stakeholder engagement on this matter,” Ato Forson remarked.

Meanwhile, the individual bondholders have petitioned the president to ensure their exclusion from the programme.

According to them, no consultation was made with them before the government announced their inclusion in the programme on December 24, 2022.

SSD/DA