Former Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has refuted claims that the decision to honor the fourth coupon payment to Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bondholders was solely directed by President John Mahama.
In a Facebook post, Dr. Amin Adam emphasized that the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had already put measures in place to ensure the seamless continuation of these payments.
He highlighted that the NPP administration had allocated substantial resources to meet these obligations. Between August 2023 and December 2024, the government disbursed GH¢17.25 billion in Payment in Cash (PIC) and GH¢9.77 billion in Payment-In-Kind (PIK) to bondholders.
Additionally, individual bondholders who did not tender their bonds received a total of GH¢515.17 million, in line with a memorandum of understanding between the government and the Coalition of Individual Bondholders.
Providing details of the payments made under the NPP government, he stated that the first payment in August 2023 amounted to GH¢8.55 billion, comprising GH¢5.42 billion in PIC and GH¢3.13 billion in PIK. The second payment in February 2024 totaled GH¢9.11 billion, with GH¢5.85 billion in PIC and GH¢3.27 billion in PIK, while the third payment in August 2024 amounted to GH¢9.35 billion, consisting of GH¢5.98 billion in PIC and GH¢3.38 billion in PIK.
Dr. Amin Adam argued that these consistent payments demonstrate that the NPP government laid a solid foundation for the programme’s continuity, making it inaccurate to credit the fourth payment solely to President Mahama’s directive.
President John Dramani Mahama has issued a directive to the Finance Ministry to settle Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) coupons and build debt buffers through a Sinking Fund.
The Finance Ministry, according to a statement from the presidency honored a Payment-In-Cash (PIC) coupon of GHS6.081 billion to all DDEP bondholders on Monday February 17,2025.
The statement from the presidency, indicated that, the government has also honored the Payment-In-Kind (PIK) portion of GHS3.45 billion, which has been deposited into the respective bondholders’ securities accounts in line with the DDEP Memorandum.
The statement mentioned that, an amount of GHS9.7 billion has been paid into the Debt Service Recovery Cedi Account (Sinking Fund) as a buffer for the 5th DDEP coupon due in July and August 2025.
President Mahama emphasized his administration’s commitment to honoring all obligations under the DDEP.
Read full statement below:
