“No haircut” is for local investments – John Kumah

A Deputy Finance Minister John Kumah has said that the ‘no haircut’ assurance that was given by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was for only true for local investments.

Speaking to 3business after the 2023 budget presentation by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in Parliament on Thursday November 24 Mr Kumah who is also lawmaker for Ejisu said there is going to be external engagements that will do haircuts for bond holders.

“We are expecting to bring down government’s obligations on our debt borrowing and interest payments,” he said.

He added “We strongly believe that the domestic investors in Ghana as we have it today, HE the President has already announced that there is not going to be any haircut on their principal, which we have stated.

“Of course there will be external engagements that will do haircuts for our bond holders. but the domestic one we are not going to do haircut or touch their principal.”

President Akufo-Addo had assured that no investor would lose his or her money including pensions funds, government treasury bills or instruments if Ghana finally seals a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Akufo-Addo noted that some members of the public have concerns that they will lose their investments if the deal with the Fund is closed,

But delivering an address to the nation on Sunday October 30, Mr Akufo-Addo allayed the fears saying, just as customers’ deposits were saved during the banking sector clean up exercise, no one will lose money in this also.

He said “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.

“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.”