Ex-Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has debunked claims that President John Mahama’s directive was the reason for the fourth coupon payment to Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bondholders.
Dr Amin Adam clarified that the payment of the fourth coupon to DDEP bondholders was a result of the previous NPP government’s meticulous planning and execution, rather than a directive from President Mahama.
“The NPP administration committed significant resources to meet these obligations, paying a total of GH¢17.25 billion in Payment-In-Cash (PIC) and GH¢9.77 billion in Payment-In-Kind (PIK) to bondholders,” he wrote on Facebook.
Dr Amin Adam outlined the breakdown of the payments as follows:
1st Payment (August 2023): Total payment of GH¢8.55 billion (PIC – GH¢5.42 billion & PIK – GH¢3.13 billion)
2nd Payment (February 2024): Total payment of GH¢9.11 billion (PIC – GH¢5.85 billion & PIK – GH¢3.27 billion)
3rd Payment (August 2024): Total payment of GH¢9.35 billion (PIC – GH¢5.98 billion & PIK – GH¢3.38 billion)
According to him, the NPP government had not defaulted in coupon payments since the restructuring of domestic debts and had built buffers in the Debt Reserves Accounts to support upcoming debt service obligations.
“The buffers we built were not accidental. We planned ahead to ensure that bondholders receive their payments on time,” Dr Amin Adam said, adding that it was misleading to attribute the fourth payment solely to President Mahama’s directive.
