The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Dr Ernest Addison has appealed to Ghanaians and all stakeholders to keep faith with managers of the economy.
He said authorities are working hard to get the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme completed as part of efforts to move the ongoing discussion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from the staff level to the board for approval.
Once that is done, he said, Ghanaians can expect an IMF deal by end of the first quarter of this year.
Answering questions during the 110th Monetary Policy Committee Press conference in Accra on Monday, January 30, he said “we should have faith, we are trying very hard to get this debt exchange completed, trying very hard to get the external restructuring also through, all of that will help us to move the discussion from the staff level to the board. As I explained earlier, this is the plan B.
“Hopefully, once that is successful we should get the disbursements by end of the first quarter, or soon after that, which will augment our foreign exchange reserves and bolster confidence into the Ghanaian economy.
The Ministry of Finance is currently engaging stakeholders especially individual bondholders on the domestic debt exchange programme.
Already, the Government of Ghana and the Ghana Insurers Association reached an agreement on the participation of insurance companies in the programme.
Under the agreement, insurance companies will participate in the exchange on similar terms as the banks, a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Insurers Association said on Thursday, January 26.
“The government through the solvency window of the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF) will provide support for the insurance companies that are seriously affected by the DDEP.’
“The objective is to protect jobs and the stability of the Industry,” the statement said.
