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On March 13th, the Ministry of Finance will begin making payments for old bonds to individual bondholders who did not sign up for the DDEP (Debt and Debt Exchange Program). This announcement was made by the Ministry of Finance, which sought to allay the fears of bondholders who were concerned about the payment of principals and coupons on their old bonds.
The Ministry has assured bondholders who did not tender their bonds that it is taking administrative steps to ensure that payments of coupons and principals of the old bonds will resume by March 13th, 2023. This assurance was made following a demonstration by three bondholder groups who marched to the Finance Ministry on February 27th to demand the immediate payment of coupons and principals which matured on February 6th and 20th, 2023.
The Coalition of Individual Bondholders Groups, made up of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum, Individual Bondholders Association of Ghana, and Individual Bondholders Forum, gathered at the Finance Ministry to check on the payment of coupons and principal for bondholders whose bonds had matured but whose payment had not been honoured despite the government’s promise.
Dr Adu Anane Antwi, a member of the coalition, expressed disappointment in the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for failing to communicate why matured bonds have still not been paid despite his assurances. However, the Ministry’s announcement provides some relief to bondholders who did not participate in the DDEP and have been waiting for the payment of their old bonds.