The Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA) has rejected the Debt Exchange Programme offered by government.

The association, which is made up of security exchange firms, as well as investment and capital market operators argue that the programme is not acceptable in its current form. 

They also expressed surprise that an earlier industry consultative inputs was not factored, when the Debt Exchange Programme was launched on December 5, 2022 by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. 

The association in a statement argued that a bond is an agreement between two parties hence, any changes to the terms must be agreed to by all of them.

“We are unable to accept the bond exchange programme announced by the Minister of Finance in its present form. We believe a bond is a contractual agreement between a borrower and a lender (bondholders) and therefore any changes to the terms must be agreed to by both parties”, the association said.

According to the GSIA, it understands the difficult crossroads at which the nation currently finds itself and the difficult choices that need to be made to set the country on the path to debt sustainability, but it will not compromise on its position.

On the way forward, GSIA said it is hoping to engage the Ministry of Finance on its concerns and reservations.

“We therefore urge the investing public to continue to have confidence in us as we pursue this process. In this vein we entreat clients of our member firms to allow us to engage and then communicate the outcomes to enable them take the best decision on their investments".