Mahama accuses BoG governor of concealing mismanagement through Debt Exchange

GraphicOnline Politics Aug - 10 - 2023 , 11:32 2 minutes read

Former President John Dramani Mahama has implied that the governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is using the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) to conceal his alleged mismanagement of the central bank.

These remarks from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Flagbearer followed an explanation by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) that a significant portion of its GH¢60 billion losses reported in the 2022 financial results, amounting to GH¢53.1 billion, were a direct consequence of the government's domestic debt restructuring efforts encompassing both phases.

In a statement issued on Wednesday [Aug 9], the BoG clarified that the domestic debt exchange (DDE), a pivotal component of the corrective strategy mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, did not achieve the anticipated objectives. The objective had been to halve the stock of government debt from 105 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 55 per cent of GDP by 2028.

The statement from the Bank of Ghana stated, "Despite the negative effects on households and banks, the targeted threshold of 55 per cent of GDP was not reached. The Bank of Ghana played a role in bridging this gap to enable Ghana to meet the debt threshold that qualified the country for the IMF program. Consequently, the Bank of Ghana absorbed the associated losses."

Reacting on August 10 in a Facebook post, the former President accused Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta of adversely impacting the economy while leveraging Covid-19 and the Ukraine/Russia conflict as distractions.

Furthermore, Mahama asserted that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison had caused damage to the central bank and was now utilizing the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) to divert attention from the central bank's deterioration.

Read Mr. Mahama's entire Facebook post below;

"An inept Finance Minister undermines the economy and resorts to Covid-19 and the Ukraine/Russia conflict as diversions. A compliant Governor undermines the Central Bank's integrity and turns to the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) as a façade."