New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) vice-presidential candidate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as NAPO, has thanked bondholders for their willingness to participate in the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
His comments came after approximately 95% of bondholders agreed to new terms, which include the introduction of new maturity periods, with bonds now maturing between 2027 and 2038.
This agreement played a critical role in restructuring the country’s domestic debt, a key step toward economic stability.
During an interview with Accra-based media on Wednesday, NAPO commended bondholders for what he called their significant sacrifices, which he said were instrumental in aiding the country’s economic recovery efforts.
He emphasised that the voluntary participation of bondholders in the DDEP was crucial, particularly in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign bondholders.
“What we have to know is that if we hadn’t met the DDEP bondholders, our economy, that has now picked up wouldn’t have been possible…If they hadn’t agreed for us to exchange their 95% bonds, we couldn’t have gone through the restructuring process with the IMF, and the foreign bondholders would have not followed for us to achieve this result
They saw that the average Ghanaian has suffered, so they felt compelled to support Ghana’s economy,” he said.
The vice-presidential candidate believes that the bondholders ‘sacrifice did not help the government but benefited all Ghanaians. He also emphasised the importance of dialogue and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that concerns are addressed moving forward.
The DDEP, launched by the government in 2022, is aims to restructure the country’s unsustainable debt by offering lower-interest, longer-term bonds in
exchange for existing ones, a move that faced strong resistance from individual bondholders, financial institutions, and labour unions. But it was deemed essential for securing a $3 billion IMF bailout and stabilising the economy.