Mr Franklin Cudjoe, founding President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IMANI Africa, has advised the government to once again extend the deadline for the domestic debt exchange programme to allow for negotiations.

According to Mr. Cudjoe, it will be in the best interest of the government to extend the deadline, as it will give government the opportunity to fully get bondholders on board.

For sometime now, individual bondholders have put up a strong resistance against the debt programme citing, among other things, the government’s failure to include them in engagements as well as the uneven positioning of the deal, which they say discharges a significant chunk of the burden on them. Some individual bond holders have since accused the government and local banks of using skilful force to get them to sign the deal.

Speaking on the issue in an interview, he noted that “The question really is, why are we using shadow boxing, subterfuge in order to coerce people, to sign onto something that is supposed to be contractual, really? I mean if it was in good faith, you wouldn’t have to use subterfuge.”

“I think this deadline of 16th or 17th must be extended, and a proper discussion, a proper negotiation terms handed down by the Ministry of Finance. I don’t even know whether they’re getting overwhelmed by the work itself. It looks to me that they’re very confused.

“I don’t think they wll be saving face if they decided to extend the time actually. I think it will be in their best interest to extend the time and cover up the bases properly. And what I will tell people who have been coerced or who are called upon to sign onto something they know very well is not in good faith, is to desist from doing so.”
Mr Cudjoe

Mr Cudjoe called on all individual bondholders, including those being forced to sign onto the deal, to join the Individual Bondholders Forum. The Individual Bondholders Forum was created to pushback against the government’s debt programme and force government to come to the table with a better offer than it is currently proposing.

“If they’ll do that they probably should come under the IBF or any other entity that is calling on people for some mass action. But that is the only language I suspect will be understood at this juncture. Otherwise they’ll be on their own really.”
Mr Cudjoe

Reject Government’s Debt Exchange Agreement

Meanwhile, Mr Senyo Hosi, former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, has urged individual bondholders to reject the government’s debt exchange agreement.

According to him, until the Akuffo Addo led government does the needful by properly engaging bondholders and seeking their input towards finding a sustainable solution to the economic challenges, any deal proposed by the government should be rejected.

Mr Hosi’s comment follows the creation of the Individual Bondholders Forum “to fight against the impoverishing of individuals who have invested in bonds or collective investment schemes.”

The former CEO disclosed that, the refusal of the government to engage with individual bondholders was unacceptable and the situation ought to be put right.

“Anybody who has been contacted by their bank, write back to your bank and say you do not accept it. Anybody who has his money in any of the funds, whether it is the Databank Mfund or a balance fund, Tesah Capital Triple T, EDC whatever it is, let’s get this clear. Do not accept it.

“It does not augur well for your good or the sustainability of this economy. You are under no compulsion to accept it. We must be at the table, you deserve to be represented, you deserve to be respected, you deserve to also be given a fair and equitable place in this discussion.”
Mr Hosi

According to Mr. Senyo Hosi, the government’s proposal is not the optimal solution to Ghana’s economic woes. He noted that while the government is seemingly absolving themselves of the chunk of responsibility for the current challenges, it is instead offloading the burden on ordinary Ghanaians through their debt exchange programme.

“Ghana’s current crisis and the problems start from the fiscal. It starts from no other space than the fiscal. Government must start cutting its coat according to the size of its cloth. Are we seeing that from government?”
Mr Hosi