DDEP: What do we want to see before we take things seriously? - Kofi Bentil asks

Vice President of policy think tank IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has berated government over its decision to go ahead with the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) despite several calls to rethink the decision.

According to him, Ghana's 'rush' to proceed with the programme is 'abnormal and arrogant in approach'

Government has emphasised that the domestic debt exchange programme is part of a broader agenda to restructure the country's debt and financial sustainability noting countries such as Jamaica, Greece, and Barbados went through similar routes to sustain their ailing economy.

But Kofi Bentil, in a Facebook post questioned government's haste and modus operandi while noting that the above-mentioned countries took months before finalizing their decision.

He also touched on the plight of individual bondholders who would be greatly be affected by the move.

"Ghana's rush to do a Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) is abnormal and arrogant in approach. It took Jamaica 30 months. It took Barbados 18 months. It took Grenada 30 months. It is NOT simple because you are asking people to hand over their property to you. You can't stampede them!"

Kofi Bentil in the said Facebook also poked the Finance Ministry for failure to coordinate with the creditors involved and co-creating the solutions with them.

“The Finance Ministry has failed to pay the costs of coordinating local creditors and co-creating the solution with them. Everywhere we have seen a successful debt restructuring, that is what the government did. Bar none!” he added.

He further cautioned government that, "If we don’t deal with it properly, it will become a systemic full-blown economic disaster and later a national security catastrophe. What do we want to see before we take things seriously?"

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