The Ghana Chamber of Corporate Trustees has requested a one month extension of the December 19 deadline for the debt exchange programme.

Bondholders were expected to exchange their old bonds for a set of four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032 and 2037 – all in a bid of restoring the nation’s capacity to service its debt.

The programme which was commenced last week is expected to impact on bonds and consequently pension funds as they will see a slash in interest payments to zero percent in 2023 and five percent in 2024.

According to the Chamber, the extension is necessary as engagements with stakeholders who will be impacted by the debt restructuring are still ongoing.

Also, they have suggested that “some key revisions of the debt-restructuring proposal will be needed in order to safeguard the interests of our contributors.”

Meanwhile, they have urged the Finance Ministry to confirm the government’s willingness to bear the expenses of a domestic bondholders committee, which will co-ordinate among creditors to expedite subsequent discussions of the proposed debt-restructuring proposal.

“This would be consistent with the established norms of contemporary sovereign debt restructuring,” the Chamber said.