The government has been given a 48-hour deadline by the Coalition of Individual Bondholders to pay all matured principal and unpaid coupons on its current bonds.
This follows the governments 'more loud silence,' in the Coalition's words, over the payment of their matured principal and outstanding coupons.
The Coalition claims that despite documented news announcements stating that payments would resume on March 13, 2023, individual bondholders who choose not to participate in the Voluntary Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) are still owed their coupon and principal payments.
“The umbrella regulator of the securities markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ghana, charged with a mandate to protect investors and market integrity, has also maintained a loud silence throughout this period on the plight of individual bondholders. The Ghana Fixed Income Market of the Ghana Stock Exchange, where the old Government of Ghana bonds are listed and traded, has also not enforced its basic rules of disclosure required by issuers.
“The little confidence remaining in the markets as a result of assurances from the Ministry of Finance is fading away under the full watch of the very institutions set up to protect it. Individual bondholders, as was the case in the aftermath of the DDEP announcement, have been left to fight for themselves as the government creates a full default on its obligations. "We will fight,” the Coalition indicated in a statement dated March 14, 2023.
They continued: “We are giving a 48-hour ultimatum to the Ministry of Finance to honor its word to pay all matured principal and outstanding coupons due on the existing bonds issued by the Government of Ghana. We call on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange to enforce the rules of full disclosure required by all issuers, including the Government of Ghana.”
Below is the Press release from the pressure group;
