Accra, 27 January, 2023 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Ghana have raised their voices against the proposed domestic debt restructuring process saying the program has significant consequences on the citizens of the West African country.
Ghana announced its plan to exchange some US$10.5 billion of existing domestic bonds and notes held by different local investors for a package of new bonds with different payout dates.
The domestic debt restructuring plan, which needs to be accepted by the bondholders, is one of Ghana's efforts to restructure its dues before receiving a US$3 billion bailout requested from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF bailout is to help the West African nation restore its financial stability.
In a Friday, January 27 statement, members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) say while they are not against efforts to disrupt efforts to make the nation economically sound, the government needs to seek less burdensome and sustainable solutions to get the country out of its current economic crisis.
The Catholic Bishops say, “The far-reaching consequences of the proposed domestic debt restructuring program on the financial sector (banks and insurance companies in particular), and the cascading implications on individual holders of government instruments, once believed to be the safest investments, are too damaging, not only for investors but also their effects on the bargaining power of households and on the poor.”
