Adnan Adams Mohammed
The Government of Ghana says successful implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) has saved the country a remarkable $12 billion.
Highlighting that, the DDEP played a crucial role in alleviating Ghana’s financial difficulties and reducing its debt burden, creating a more sustainable fiscal environment.
The DDEP, launched in December 2022, was a key element of Ghana’s broader debt restructuring efforts. The programme required domestic bondholders to exchange their existing bonds for new ones under different terms, reducing the government’s debt servicing obligations.
“The DDEP was a great success, and it paved the way for the restructuring of our bilateral debt, which also saw significant success,” Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has revealed during a panel discussion at the 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group, last week.
“… government saved $2.8 billion from bilateral debt restructuring.”
According to government data, Ghana has successfully restructured $13 billion in Eurobonds, concluding the process in early October. This resulted in an outright debt cancellation of about $5 billion and debt service relief of $4.3 billion, bringing total savings to approximately $12 billion.
“We still have an ongoing restructuring process with our commercial creditors involving about $2.7 billion, and we are working hard to conclude that,” he added.
Dr. Adam emphasised that the DDEP was an essential policy measure, laying the foundation for these wider debt relief efforts, which have significantly improved Ghana’s fiscal health.
