The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has disclosed that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) has had a negative impact on its members.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Mark Badu-Aboagye most its members were highly exposed to government bonds.

He stated that a research conducted also revealed that about 50 percent of total asset of banks were invested in government bonds.

Speaking on Joy Business’ Thought Leadership Series on the theme: Debt Exchange and IMF Deal, A Do or Die Affair?, Mr. Badu-Aboagye, maintained that members of the chamber could face serious challenges in reinvesting into their companies.

“It’s been very severe because the private sector is highly exposed to government bonds. The individual bond holders, most of them are business owners that have also invested in government bonds seeking to get their capital reimburse into their businesses. So by and large, we have suffered from this DDEP”. 

He added that, most banks and insurance companies invest majority of their capital into government bonds rather than lending to private sector which will ultimately develop the real sector of the economy.

“The private sector is severely exposed to the DDEP. Banks and insurance companies are all private organizations, and you take a bank that has acquire a bond of 9 billion and given the private sector 4 billion. How do you expect the economy to grow”?, he quizzed.

The Ministry of Finance on February 14, 2023 announced that approximately 85% of bondholders participated in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). This amounted to ¢82,994,510,128 (¢82.99 billion).

Meanwhile, the Thought Leadership Programme, is aimed at discussing some of the critical concerns that came up after the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.