Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has objected to the domestic debt restructuring option as a means to sustain Ghana’s debts.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday, he explained the negative effects the domestic debt restructuring will have on the economy.

 “The impact on the Ghanaian economy will be more severe than the short-term goal of the debt sustainability we are seeking to achieve.”

According to him, although some form of debt restructuring is needed, domestic debt exchange is not the best option.

“I think domestic debt restructuring is a no go area,” he said.

He called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to engage on the matter.

According to him, the country should learn from the experiences of other countries.

“Countries have gone through this but what was the end game? We saw recession that countries that had to do this. This is the first time an African country is going to go through domestic debt restructuring of this magnitude. We are in a deep hole as a country,” he said.

Earlier today, the Ghana Individual Bondholders Forum hinted that bondholders will lose 88.2% of their investments at the current inflation rate if the government goes ahead to include individuals in the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.

In a press statement issued, it said, President Akufo-Addo’s promise of no loss or haircut has not in any form been honoured, adding that “great will be lost, too much is missing, everything is broken, you will not recover, your livelihoods shall be destroyed”.

It mentioned that the President was explicit that there will be no haircuts in his public address on the December 5, 2022, quoting 1 Samuel 30:19 saying “nothing was missing, small or great. I say to you, nothing will be lost, nothing will be missing, and nothing will be broken. We will, together, recover all.”