The Christian Council of Ghana(CCG) has called on the government to suspend the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and engage stakeholders.
According to the leadership of the Council, the call comes after discussions with some stakeholders on Ghana’s economy.
In a statement, CCG said they are convinced that the whole process needs to be suspended until broader consultations have been made.
“As an advocacy group that speaks for the vulnerable in society, the Council has examined the concerns of the Individual Bond Holders Association of Ghana (IBHAG), the Pensioner Bondholders Forum, our church members and the general public and have identified lapses in the debt restructuring programme, a major one being lack of consultation with affected individuals and institutions.”
The Council believes that thorough engagements with stakeholders would help the government appreciate the concerns of the Ghanaian people and put measures in place to address some of the challenges of the programme.
“With the current economic hardships in the country and the agitations among the general public, it is in the nation’s interest for the Finance Ministry to suspend the 31st January deadline given to individuals to sign on to the programme and rather propose a road map for dialogue to make the process participatory such that the outcome would be acceptable to all,” the statement read.
They further called on all churches to pray for the Finance Minister “for God’s wisdom and direction in this matter.”
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has agreed to set up a technical committee to further engage individual bondholders on their inclusion in the debt exchange programme.
This follows a closed-door meeting with leaders of the Individual Bondholders Forum on Wednesday, January 19, 2023, for engagement on the programme.
The Forum and other institutions have vehemently kicked against the inclusion of individual bondholders in the programme.
In the past weeks, these groups have argued that the programme will have dire consequences on the individuals if it kicks off.