 government has announced that President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister for Finance to honour the fourth coupon payment to bondholders under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). The payment, scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2025, marks the continuation of coupon payments following the successful restructuring of Ghana’s domestic debt.){kind=link}
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has announced that President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister for Finance to honour the fourth coupon payment to bondholders under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). The payment, scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2025, marks the continuation of coupon payments following the successful restructuring of Ghana’s domestic debt.
According to the announcement, the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had already honoured three coupon payments between August 2023 and December 2024. These payments, made through a combination of Payment-In-Cash (PIC) and Payment-In-Kind (PIK), amounted to a total of GHS17.25 billion in cash and GHS9.77 billion in kind.
In a Facebook post, the former finance minister, Dr. Amin Adam, posted the NPP government paid GHS515.17 million in coupon payments to individual bondholders who did not tender their bonds under the DDEP. These payments were in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Government and the Coalition of Individual Bondholders.
Breakdown of Previous Coupon Payments:
• 1st Payment (August 2023): Total payment of GHS8.55 billion (PIC: GHS5.42 billion, PIK: GHS3.13 billion).
• 2nd Payment (February 2024): Total payment of GHS9.11 billion (PIC: GHS5.85 billion, PIK: GHS3.27 billion).
• 3rd Payment (August 2024): Total payment of GHS9.35 billion (PIC: GHS5.98 billion, PIK: GHS3.38 billion).
Since the restructuring of domestic debt, the previous NPP government consistently met coupon payment obligations without defaulting. Buffers were also built in the Debt Reserves Accounts to support future debt service obligations, including the upcoming fourth coupon payment.
The NDC government has assured bondholders of its commitment to upholding the terms of the DDEP and building on the progress made by the previous administration. Bondholders and stakeholders are optimistic that this payment will further strengthen confidence in Ghana’s debt management strategies.