During the mid-year budget review in Parliament on July 31, 2023, Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, highlighted the government’s plans to restructure pension funds and swap debt in the energy sector as part of their efforts to control the country’s debt.
The Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) has already given the government greater fiscal flexibility and solved liquidity issues. The government aims to consult with stakeholders about other domestic debt instruments that were excluded from the DDEP perimeter in order to complete the domestic debt operations.
Mr. Ofori-Atta noted that, while pension funds were exempted from the main DDEP, the government is still negotiating viable solutions with them.
Furthermore, on July 14, 2023, the government will begin debt operations for cocoa bills and local US dollar-denominated bonds. Settlement for these operations is scheduled for July 31, 2023.
The government is also collaborating with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to provide debt relief and financing arrangements that will assure both the country’s debt sustainability and the energy sector’s financial sustainability.