The Minority in Parliament is unhappy with the government's Debt Exchange Programme. They believe it is putting our financial system at risk.
Today, Ghana is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. This is because the government has not done a good job of managing the country's economy. This has been confirmed by both the finance minister and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The programme will not be running for the next while.
The Minority Group thinks it would be a good idea to suspend the domestic debt exchange program for a while so that we can have a dialogue with all the different people involved to figure out the best way to run it.
The debt exchange programme is not going to be good for Ghanaians or the banks that lend money to them.
Today, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said that including individual bondholders in the DDE is the biggest transfer of funds from the pockets of Ghanaians to the government. This will leave affected persons, mainly the middle class, poorer while worsening the plight of the poor. This must be stopped immediately.
Some people have disagreed with the idea of the Programme since it was announced in December 2022.
The Programme could have a big impact on the whole financial and banking sector. Restructuring domestic debts could make it difficult for banks to meet their capital requirements, and this could lead to problems for the whole sector.
He explained that if the government doesn't pay the banks any interest this year, they'll lose money. And if that happens, some banks might go bankrupt.
If we don't pay interest on our bank loans in 2023, it will be very bad for the banks and their customers. Some people would have to be laid off, and the banks' money would be worth less.
The programme will affect the value of pension funds, which will likely mean smaller payouts for people who have them.