Government Pays Outstanding Coupons To Individual Bondholders

Government has commenced payments of outstanding coupons to individual bondholders who failed to participate in the Domestic Debt Exchange programme. In a statement, the coalition of Individual Bondholders confirmed the payments of matured coupons to its members but called on the Ministry of Finance to review its communication management and reposition it for proactive engagement with creditors as is professionally expected.

While we welcome the commencement of payments, it is important to note that the failure to be definite about a payment schedule or a notification date for outstanding payments does not augur well for the rebuilding of confidence in the financial market. We, therefore, call on the Ministry of Finance to advise its exact payment plans within a week of this first payment.

We owe it to the credibility of Ghana’s financial market and future generations to rebuild and
sustain a credible and buoyant financial market, at least, in respect of information and transparency as required of issuers per the Securities Industry Act, 2016 (Act 929), SEC and GSE Regulations. We further call on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to rise above partisan politics and exercise their roles responsibly as independent regulators and managers of our securities market.

Building credible institutions remains critical for the development of our country. In this regard, we expect professional leadership from these two institutions in protecting investors and ensuring responsible and compliant conduct of issuers including the Government of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance.

We humbly urge the Ministry of Finance to review its communication management and reposition it for proactive engagement with creditors as is professionally expected. We remain committed to cooperating with the Ministry of Finance to address challenges as they may emerge and to rebuild confidence in Ghana’s financial market.