Govt has no plans to restructure debt with local contractors — MoF

The Ministry of Finance has said the government has no plans to restructure its debt with local contractors.

In a release, the ministry said no such restructuring has been contemplated during or after the domestic debt restructuring program, which commenced in December 2022 and came to a firm close in October 2023.

“During a recent Monthly Press Briefing on the Economy held on 29th August 2024, a question was raised regarding external commercial debt restructuring, the response to which was misinterpreted to mean that obligations to local contractors were going to be restructured.

“To clarify, debt restructuring refers to the reorganization of Ghana's stock of debt, comprising loans and bonds. Domestic contractors' liabilities, on the other hand, are payment claims, not loans or bonds, and do not fall under the category of obligations eligible for restructuring,” the release stated.

The release said the ministry has never engaged or invited contractors for debt restructuring discussions.

The release further explained that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) only covered domestic
bonds held by the Central Bank, Pension Funds, and retail debt investors, with no mention of contractors' payments.