Gov’t to protect interest of investors in debt exchange programme
The Deputy finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare has stated that Ghana’s debt as at the end of September 2022 stood at GHS 467.4 billion prompting a path to restoring the public debt stock to sustainable levels.
Madam Asare has assured that the government will safeguard the interests of investors even as the nation makes consideration of a debt exchange program.
Speaking to in an interview on November 24, 2022 on Thursday, after the presentation of the 2023 budget, the deputy minister said Treasury bills are out of the perimeter of debt operations.
“This budget seeks to achieve certain things that we want to bring stability in the economy and also help us get our debt to a sustainable level. In doing so we are looking at debt exchange as the minister announced. This debt exchange is going to be done in conjunction with the regulators and all the relevant stakeholders.
“We haven’t concluded on the debt exchange but one thing I want to put out there is to allay the fears of anybody at all. Is that for all Treasury Bills they are not in the perimeter of the debt restructuring or debt exchange,” madam Osei Asare assured.
She also stated that what the government is seeking to bring with the program is to bring the debts to a sustainable level so that the market can correct itself and reduce interest rates.
“That will reflect in the inflation rate and help in bringing down the prices of goods and services as well as food.
“We believe that as we sit together in our tenure, rates that best fit the market that we have now, we will be doing ourselves a lot of good in bringing our debt levels down, to make sure that we stabilize the economy,” she added.