The Chamber of Corporate Trustees of Ghana, has rejected the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme which is directed towards restoring the nation’s capacity to service its debt by the Ministry of Finance.

In a press release issued and signed by the Chamber’s Executive Secretary, Thomas Kwesi Esso, on Tuesday December 6, the Chamber noted that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme will do more harm than good to investors under its umbrella.

The Chamber opined that the Domestic Debt Exchange programme will not have a good outcome for pension contributors. The statement disclosed that “the Pensions Chamber would like to assure contributors to pension schemes that the industry has not agreed to the debt exchange programme proposed by the Ministry of Finance.”

“We have carefully analyzed the announcement by the Minister of Finance on the Debt Exchange Program and are of the opinion that it is injurious to the interest of contributors to pension schemes.”
Chamber Of Corporate Trustees

However, the group noted that though it acknowledges the negative effect of inflation on the pension fund assets, the need to reduce government’s debt burden “should not be done to the detriment of contributors to pension schemes.”

The fear of the Chamber is as a result of President Akuffo Addo’s initial position that there would be no haircuts, a position which has changed a few weeks on.

“On 30th October, 2022, The President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo addressed the nation and assured all Ghanaians that “there would be no haircuts on pension funds”. A few weeks after this announcement, “we are all witnessing, rather surprisingly, a major U-turn from that position.” the statement noted.

The Finance Minister, Hon Kenneth Ofori-Atta on Monday December 5, disclosed that the objective of the programme was “to invite holders of domestic debt to voluntarily exchange approximately ¢137 billion of the domestic notes and bonds of the Republic, including E.S.L.A. and Daakye bonds, for a package of New Bonds to be issued by the Republic.”

No ‘Hair Cuts’ U-turn Is A Disgrace

Meanwhile, A senior member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Amoako Baah, has stated that the government’s announcement of a debt operation after the President, Nana Akuffo Addo, categorically stated that government bond holders will not loose their money, is a disgrace to the President.

To him, the move shows that President Akuffo Addo has no credibilty and nobody, including international investors will ever trust his words.

Speaking in an interview, Dr Amoako Baah noted that, handlers of the President, should not have allowed him make the ‘no haircuts’ statement if they were not sure about it.

“The ‘no haircuts’ statement he made didn’t make sense. Is he a financial man? He was not the one to have spoken about it. The finance Minister should be the one talking about it. He has disgraced himself”
Dr Amoako Baah

Assurance Of ‘No Haircuts’ On Investment By President

It can be recalled that the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on October 30, assured Ghanaians that the government does not intend to slash the returns made on investments as speculated.

The President gave the assurance when he addressed the nation on Sunday,October 30, following the economic challenges currently confronting the country.

“I also want to assure all Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of our ongoing IMF negotiations. There will be no ‘haircuts’, so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up, Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits”
Akuffo Addo