Our immediate priority remains issuing T-bills to finance fiscal deficit – Government

The government has told the International Monetary Fund that its immediate priority remains issuing sufficient treasury bills to finance the government deficit.

According to the government, its debt management in the near term will focus on ensuring sufficient domestic financing before focusing on structural market improvements over the medium-term.

“Our immediate priority remains to ensure sufficient issuance of T-bills to finance the government deficit. At the same time, we will develop a roadmap for the gradual resumption of bond issuances in the coming years”, it stated in the IMF Economic Credit Financing programme.

“We will carefully manage domestic bond issuances to prioritise successful execution, favoring private placements. Any placement with non-residents would need to consider managing the potential volatility associated with capital flows and be compatible with the programme parameters:”, it added.

It continued that once domestic market access is more firmly established, the primary issuance will switch to competitive auctions.

“We will also increase our surveillance of debt issuance by State Owned Enterprises and other public entities, strictly limit and monitor collateralized debt issuance, strictly limit borrowing on non-concessional terms, and ensure that debt payments are made on time.”

It concluded that once its external debt restructuring is completed, it will develop and publish a medium-term debt management strategy and an annual borrowing and recovery plan.

The government has been heavy on the money market borrowing substantial amount to finance maturing bills and government projects.

The government borrowed GH¢115.77 billion from the treasury market in the first-half of 2024, representing a 70.22% increase over the same period last year.