Audio By Carbonatix
The Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, says the absence of an interest rate cap on the latest attempt to borrow one billion dollars from the international market is because it would be impossible to do so.
“Nobody is able to tell when you are going to float a bond on the international capital market what rate you’ll get, not even the analysts in the US Treasury, not even the US Fed will be able to tell you that you are going to get”, Seth Terkper said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Wednesday.
He was reacting to criticism by the Minority in the Parliament that the Eurobond is bad because of the failure of government state the interest rate which the bond is to be obtained.
The Minority says in the past, the Minister has provided a range within which he intends to borrow.
Seth Terkper said, "you don’t just look at interest rate in making your decision when you are in the financial market”.
The Minority is blocking the Minister from going to the international market.
If the motion passes, it would be the second time the Minister is borrowing from the international capital market three months. In October this year, government borrowed one billion dollars at an interest rate of 10.75% over 15 years.
On Tuesday, the MPs voted against a move to secure sovereign guarantee for the latest one billion dollar Eurobond issue.
The Minority says government is borrowing too much.
Seth Terkper says the entire one billion dollar Eurobond waiting for Parliamentary approval would be used for refinancing Ghana's short-term debts.
"We are moving away from the practice where we pay only interests so that we stop rolling over our bond,” the Minister said.
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