President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the Government of Ghana is preparing to re-enter the international bond market, three years after its closure due to a sovereign default.
Speaking at the 9th edition of the CEOs Summit in Accra, themed “Leading Ghana’s Economic Reset: Transforming Business and Governance for a Sustainable Futuristic Economy”, President Mahama attributed this renewed market access to recent economic stability.
“Future borrowings will be strictly tied to self-financing and commercially viable projects, particularly by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), to ensure value for money and sustainable repayment,” he said.
Ghana’s bond market was effectively closed in 2022 after the country defaulted on its external debt, triggering a comprehensive debt restructuring programme. The return to the market, the President stated, forms part of an ambitious eight-point agenda to reset the Ghanaian economy.
Key components of this economic reset include, strict adherence to the ongoing IMF Extended Credit Facility programme, empowerment of MDAs and MMDAs to borrow against their own balance sheets and continued fiscal discipline in government spending and borrowing
“We aim to conclude the fourth review of the IMF programme by June and target a full exit by the end of 2026. Beyond that, Ghana will engage with the IMF through Article IV consultations and adopt a policy support framework to ensure continued macroeconomic prudence,” he said.
Under this revitalisation strategy, MDAs and MMDAs will be authorized to issue infrastructure and municipal bonds to finance essential public projects, including roads, educational institutions, water systems, and local industry development.
President Mahama emphasized that the Auditor-General is currently auditing government commitments to promote transparency, enforce spending controls, and prioritize projects based on national interest and funding availability.
As part of structural reforms, the Ghana Exim Bank will be revitalized to bolster non-traditional exports, agro-processing, and light manufacturing, aiming to boost foreign exchange inflows.
“This economic reset will only be successful with the private sector at its core,” Mahama noted. “Restoring macroeconomic stability is not the goal itself, but a platform to drive private investment. The private sector will be consulted on all major government decisions.”
Also addressing the summit, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, assured investors that the recent strengthening of the Ghanaian cedi is market-driven and not artificially supported by the central bank’s reserves.
“We are not engineering any unsustainable appreciation. The growth prospects of the Ghanaian economy remain strong, and we are laying the groundwork for a stable and predictable investment environment,” Dr. Asiama affirmed.
He reiterated that the cedi remains the sole legal tender in Ghana and assured that the central bank is committed to maintaining macroeconomic stability.
Story By: Michael Abayatey
