Convener of the Individual Bondholders forum, Senyo Hosi, has revealed that there is a lack of equity in the debt exchange programme.
According to him, people who have invested their monies in bonds should not be the only ones bearing the brunt of the debt restructuring programme. He indicated that this imposes a one-sided responsibility on them to support the economic recovery exercise.
Mr Hosi noted that the monies used by individual bondholders in the bonds are from households where many family members depend on it. He explained that providers of loanable funds are mainly household individuals and that these funds which are savings from households drive the economy.
“You may have kept your money rather in the bank and invested in government bonds. He may have just decided that he’ll rather keep his money and go and invest in properties, but at the end of the day, we have a problem to solve together. Why should it be you who going to put your money in the bonds be the one to suffer and not the one who put his money in the property? There’s an equity problem there.”
Senyo Hosi
Mr Hosi highlighted that including these bondholders in the economic recovery programme without careful consultation could cripple them financially. He reckoned that the government needs bondholders more than the reverse, as such, government must be strategic in its way of communication in the quest to execute the debt exchange programme.
The convener of the forum emphasized that government must not disrupt individuals confidence in the financial sector else it could impede access to loanable funds which in turn could disrupt the economy.
Subsequently, Mr Hosi expressed that politicians should stop viewing Ghana as a cake they are entitled to a share. He noted that the mentality that every politician must have a piece of the country’s resources while they are in power has proven detrimental to the development of the nation and is partly responsible for the current economic crisis.
He explained that this phenomenon is particularly seen in public institutions where politicians pay foot soldiers for their services through employment opportunities and the awarding of contracts.
Bondholders meeting with government a breakthrough
Meanwhile, Private legal practitioner and a member of the Individual Bondholders Forum, Martin Kpebu, has revealed that the meeting between the bondholders forum and the finance minister on the debt exchange was a major breakthrough in bondholders bid to kick against their inclusion.
“The meeting with the finance minister was a big breakthrough in the advocacy. The finance minister bought our argument that gov’t cannot undertake developmental projects at the expense of the citizens.”
Martin Kpebu
The Finance Minister, after the meeting with the bondholders on January 18, 2023 revealed that he expects the joint technical committee established to finish its work by January 30. He stated that the government wants to get the programme started as part of moves to resolve the economic challenges.
Speaking to the media after a crunch meeting with the bondholders under the umbrella body, Ghana Individual Bondholders Forum (IBF), he clarified that the programmes is a voluntary programme and that government anticipates getting up to 80 per cent compliance from people.
Prior to this, the Individual Bonholders Forum petitioned the Minister to be excluded from the Programme, which has been scheduled to be rolled out after Tuesday, January 31. They claimed they have not been adequately engaged by government in an attempt to include their bonds in the Programme.
The bondholders accused the government of short-changing them especially as the Programme comes at a time a promise was made there will be no haircuts to such investments.
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