Vice President of Imani Africa, Bright Simons says some measures taken by the government in the past weeks show it is beginning to appreciate some of the complexities and challenges of the economy.
He cited the further extension of the expiration date of the Domestic Debt Exchange to 16th January 2023 and amendments to the Terms of the Domestic Exchange.
Bright Simons in a tweet said, “the government is now beginning to grasp some of the complexities & challenges.”
“After the holidays we will probe further.”
The Government of Ghana, in a bid to mitigate an economic crisis, has secured a staff-level agreement for a $3 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF has said that its board will approve the deal only if Ghana undergoes comprehensive debt restructuring.
Ghana announced a domestic debt exchange program earlier this month and said that external restructuring was being negotiated with creditors.
The Ministry of Finance had previously extended the registration deadline for the domestic debt exchange from December 19 to December 30.
Under the original plan, local bonds were to be exchanged for new ones maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032 and 2037, with annual coupons set at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024 and 10% from 2025 until maturity.
In a statement issued last Saturday, however, the Finance Ministry said that eight additional instruments would be created, bringing the total number of new bonds to 12, with one maturing each year from 2027 to 2038.
It was not made clear what coupon values the new bonds would hold.
Saturday’s announcement also said that individual bondholders would now be invited to participate in the programme, despite their initial exemption.