‘It’s A Declaration of War’ – Manasseh On The Use of Force to Make Bondholders Comply With Debt Exchange Programme

The government’s attempt to coerce domestic bondholders into complying with its debt exchange program has been characterized as a declaration of war by renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni.

Mr. Azure Awuni criticized the government on social media for borrowing enormous amounts of money, disregarding caution, and insulting critics in a post about the domestic exchange program. He claims that the attempt to restructure debt using people’s savings is tantamount to declaring war on the Ghanaian people.

“They[ Government] borrowed in our name and dissipated it. When we complained they insulted us. Now they can’t pay, and they want to forcefully confiscate our little individual savings to pay for what they borrowed and stole and stashed in foreign accounts. This is like a declaration of war,” he lamented.

In order to fulfill crucial requirements for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government, headed by beleaguered Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, is starting a debt restructuring program (debt exchange). This is done in an effort to combat Ghana’s unparalleled economic crisis.