Representatives of the over one million three hundred thousand Ghanaian individual bond holders whose fortunes have been affected by government’s debt restructuring program stormed Parliament this afternoon, to register their displeasure with the program.
Under the Program, domestic bondholders will be asked to exchange their instruments for new ones. Existing domestic bonds as of 1st December 2022 will be exchanged for a set of four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032 and 2037. The annual coupon on all of these new bonds will be set at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024 and 10% from 2025 until maturity. Coupon payments will be semi-annual.
Dr Anane Antwi, convener of Pension Bond holders forum in an interview on the pulse powered joynews and monitored by afropolitanonline.com hinted :“If there is restructuring, the key thing is negotiation, you negotiate with your creditors to agree on how they are going to allow you to bring a new program. Without negotiation, you can’t impose anything on your creditors because they have the right to their money.”
The petitioners met some senior members of parliament including majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah among others.
The investments of bondholders hang in the balance; not knowing how government is going to treat them and the gains their investments will bring them.
Whether government will accept the pleas of bondholders and negotiate in the face of its structured economic plan to redeem the economy remains in doubt. However, a trial in circumstances like this is worth while.
Jeffery Jones
This website uses cookies.