The government is committed to protecting the financial sector and would, therefore, not take unilateral decisions that will undermine the smooth operation of the sector, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has said.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Mr Ofori-Atta assured the financial sector and the general public that transparent engagements would be undertaken on issues of mutual interest.
The minister used the press conference to comment on topical issues, including ongoing discussions of a potential restructuring of the domestic debt.
News of debt restructuring surfaced last week when some media houses reported that the government was set to start discussions with local bond holders on how to restructure their holdings.
The Minister said said at the event that such reports were false, preemptive and disruptive to the financial sector and ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a fund-assisted programme.
He dismissed allegations that the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are working at restructuring the country’s domestic debts.
Mr Ofori-Atta said having a sustainable debt path was a pre-requisite for the IMF programme and efforts to authenticate that were underway.
In that regard, he said a DSA by the IMF/World Bank and the Ghana team aimed at ascertaining the level and impact of the debt on the economy was ongoing, thereby making talk of a debt restructuring far-fetched.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we simply have not reached any agreement with the fund on the parameters of any debt operations as we are in the process of completing the debt sustainability analysis (DSA). “The government shall continue to actively engage all stakeholders in a clear and transparent manner as we seek to fast-tract the IMF negotiation process,” the minister said.
