Debt exchange has contributed to rebound of economy – Ofori-Atta

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has attributed the rebound of the economy to the launch of the debt exchange programme and the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $3 billion bailout.

Addressing the public on the suspension of external debt payments on Monday, December 19, Mr Ofori-Atta said the government is willing to do everything possible to sustain the gains that the government had made in reviving the economy.

“The launch of the debt exchange programme, coupled with the signing of the Staff Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund, have aided our stability efforts and have in particular contributed significantly to the rebound of our currency.

“While accommodating the inputs of stakeholders, we must do all we can to sustain the gains of these initiatives keeping in sight the urgency of obtaining IMF Board approval in Q1 2023. The cost of this not succeeding will be too huge for our economy.”

Mr Ofori-Atta also stated that the suspension of all payments of external debts will help the economy sustain the gains it has made over the last weeks.

The Finance Ministry on Monday, December 19, stated that the suspension will include the payments on our Eurobonds; our commercial term loans; and most of the country’s bilateral debt.

The suspension, according to the Ministry will, however, not affect the payments of Ghana’s multilateral debt, new debts (whether multilateral or otherwise) contracted after 19th December 2022 or debts related to certain short-term trade facilities.

“We are also evaluating certain specific debts related to projects with the highest socio-economic impact for Ghana which may have to be excluded. This suspension is an interim emergency measure pending future agreements with all relevant creditors,” parts of the statement read.