Government’s arrogant posturing on debt exchange causing stakeholders to reject it – Senyo Hosi

Senyo Hosi has attributed the hostile reactions that have greeted the government’s debt exchange programme to arrogance and the unilateral approach it has adopted in dealing with the matter.

The Investor and Economic Policy Analyst said this while speaking during Citi TV/Citi FM’s forum on Ghana’s debt restructuring on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.

The event was organized in collaboration with IMANI Africa and Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and on the theme: “Ghana debt saga: Now what next?”

According to Hosi, the government’s failure to engage in broad consultation with relevant stakeholders on the intended debt exchange programme before announcing it has put them in defensive mode, hence they are kicking against it.

“I feel that oftentimes, our finance team loses sight of the broad picture and gets a bit more unilateral with their position. I think that there is a bit of hubris that has not really helped. Instead of us engaging and consulting and getting alternative ways of getting things done, people have been a bit too inward-looking and more arrogant in their posturing in trying to solve this problem and that is why we are going to have a very tough ride in trying to resolve what we currently have,” citinewsroom.com quotes him as saying.

READ ALSO: Those who're against National Cathedral are like Sanballat and Tobias – Akufo-Addo

Following the severe economic crisis that has befallen Ghana, the government is seeking a three-billion-dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

As a precondition for granting the bailout, the Breton wood institution must be convinced that the country’s debts are sustainable, so the government is compelled to embark on certain measures to restructure both its internal and domestic debts.

The government has therefore announced a debt exchange programme for domestic investors while suspending some of its external debts.

However, the measures have not sat well with the internal stakeholders, triggering agitations, with some labour unions scheduling December 27 to embark on indefinite nationwide strike action. They have warned the government to stay away from their pension funds of workers.

Touching on the turbulence that the government’s decision has occasioned, Senyo Hosi said governments must learn to respect stakeholders in every sector when taking decisions that would affect them.

“It’s difficult to tell if engagements have been more aimed at substance or just a mechanism for communicating a decision. It’s very dangerous. Government is just one significant player in the market. The government accounts for just about 20 percent of this country’s GDP. It is the private sector that accounts for the rest. So, if you want to make a critical intervention, the government must know it is dealing with a policy frame and economy and not just a government book because of the decision's rippling effect,” he cautioned.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has likened critics of the controversial National Cathedral building to Sanballat and Tobias in the book of Nehemiah in the bible who vehemently opposed the building of the Jerusalem wall.

According to him, he remains resolute in the face of incessant criticisms, with many people saying that the project is a misplaced priority.

He said this, among other things on Sunday, December 18, 2022, at the centenary celebration of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, held at the Black Star Square, Accra.

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