Govt has achieved about 50% participation for DDEP – Abena Osei Asare

The government has achieved about 50 percent participation out of its intended 80 percent target for bondholders to sign up to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), a deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare has revealed.

“As of yesterday, when we decided to extend and grant that administrative window, we had done above 50 percent,” Osei Asare told host Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, February 8.

The Deputy Finance Minister added that the government is hopeful that more bondholders who were unable to tender their documents on Tuesday will complete the process before the new Friday deadline.

The government on Tuesday, extended the window for bondholders to complete tender processes as part of the controversial domestic debt exchange programme.

The deadline for signing up for the programme expired on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, but the government in a late-night press statement said some of the bondholders faced “technical glitches as they tried to complete the online tender process” hence the window to enable such persons to complete the process.

It has thus given such persons three days to do that.

“As a result, the government is providing bondholders with a window to complete processes for tendering their bonds, in response to the terms of Exchange as amended pursuant to the 2nd Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum. This window ends on Friday, 10th February 2023 at 4:00 p.m. (GMT),” the Finance Ministry announced in a statement signed by sector minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

The deputy Finance Minister added that the government needs to conclude the programme to be able to conclude engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March for the much-needed bailout.