There is uneasiness in the Financial Space as the first coupons of new bonds issued by the government following the restructuring of the domestic debt are due today August 22, 2023.
Government in February this year successfully restructured some GHS 87.76 billion of existing bonds to 16 new bonds with varied maturing dates ranging from August 2027 up until August 2038, while offering varied interest rates of up between 5% – 15% on the new bonds to be paid semi-annually.
In all, the government is expected to settle nearly GHS 2.5 bn to bondholders by the close of today.
However, it is still uncertain whether the government will honour its debt obligation.
Correspondence cited from the Central Security Depository (CSD) shows that despite notifying financial institutions and corporate bondholders about the due date, the CSD has been quick to caution the institutions against making any payments to customers until the government settles the payment.
Today to some is the “Moment of Truth” for the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.