The Ministry of Finance (MoF) joins its Technical Team to engage Individual Bondholders in another leg of negotiations today, January 19, 2023 after their first fruitful meeting yesterday, Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
The agenda for the meeting is to examine the options put forth by bondholders, following an agreement reached between them and the finance ministry during their previous meeting on January 18, 2023.
The bondholders are concerned that including their bonds as part of the process to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, may render their bonds valueless.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta after the meeting expressed hope for a positive outcome from the Technical Committee’s work.
“We’ve set up Technical Committees and they will be meeting tomorrow because we don’t really want to miss the deadline that we have set. We are confident that we will get there but I think if all of us sit down to think about it, it will be good for us.
“But I think a clarity for all of us is that, it is a voluntary programme you know, we have anticipated maybe getting up to 80% to still put us within the parameter. So we are asking everybody to really join, then maybe things we may do to mitigate the impact, that is what I believe the technical committee will look at.”
Ofori Atta
After a review by the ministry, Ken Ofori Atta stated that he is considering ruling out treasury bills under the Domestic Debt Exchange Program(DDEP), insisting it will be suicidal for government’s own finances.
On the other side, Senyo Hosi, who is the Leader of the Individual Bondholders Forum, on the group’s behalf is hoping that their proposals will be adopted by the Technical Committee to bring them (the individual bondholders) relief.
“We trust that we will find a common path for something functional for the sustainability of our motherland, Ghana. Our country is one, we have nowhere else to go. We have to work together to make it work but the survival of all these 6.5 million people is part of the ability of this country’s work.”
Senyo Hosi
Some Bondholders Are Doomed To Die
A 77-year old individual bondholder, Peter Kojo Nyatefe, who is a retiree and cannot walk without systems is worried he may not survive if government fails to listen to the plea of individual bondholders and exempt them from the debt exchange program.
According to Mr. Nyatefe, failure to receive coupons this year will mean death because he cannot afford prostate diabetes and high blood pressure medications. The old retiree is so desperate to receive coupon payments to buy his medication and promises to storm his bank later this month and stay there until he is paid.
“When I heard that now we’re not going to get any coupon or any interest until 2027 before they will give you 5% of your capital, I said wow, 77-year old, then how many years has God given me?
“There is no plan now. There is nothing I can sell anymore. The only thing I have decided to do was to go to the bank on the 23rd,to go to the bank there…even if this money is not there, I am going to stay there until they carry me wherever they want to carry me.”
Peter Nyatefe
Mr. Nyatefe painfully said that not only will he not be able to sustain himself in health if he is not paid, but also added that he will have no funds to foot his utility bills nor even purchase food.
