Director of Communications of the NPP, Richard Ahiagbah
The Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has stated that the previous Akufo-Addo administration honored bondholders of the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) with three coupon payments.
According to him, the NPP government disbursed a total of GH¢9.77 billion in Payment-In-Kind (PIK) and GH¢17.25 billion in Payment-In-Cash (PIC) to bondholders.
Additionally, he noted that, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Coalition of Individual Bondholders, coupons totaling GH¢515.17 million were paid to bondholders who did not tender their bonds at various points between 2023 and 2024.
The NPP Director of Communications emphasized that “the former NPP administration had not defaulted on any coupon payments since the restructuring of domestic debts. To ensure the settlement of future debt service commitments, such as the fourth coupon payment, buffers were also created in the Debt Reserves Accounts.”
Richard Ahiagbah’s remarks coincide with the President Mahama administration’s announcement that the fourth DDEP coupon payment had been successfully settled.
Richard Ahiagbah stated, “According to the NDC Government, the President has instructed the Finance Minister to honor coupon payments to holders of DDEP bonds. This will be the fourth coupon payment, which is due on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, as stated in the notification.
“Thus, from August 2023 to December 2024, the former NPP Government honored three prior coupon payments in both cash and kind,” he pointed out.
Ahiagbah also noted that the immediate past government disbursed a total of GH¢9.77 billion in PIK and GH¢17.25 billion in PIC.
Additionally, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Coalition of Individual Bondholders, coupons totaling GH¢515.17 million were paid to bondholders who chose not to tender their bonds at various points throughout 2023 and 2024.
“The former NPP government did not default on any coupon payments after the restructuring of domestic debts. To ensure the settlement of future debt service commitments, such as the fourth coupon payment, buffers were also created in the Debt Reserves Accounts,” he explained.
The breakdown of the payments is as follows, according to Richard Ahiagbah:
• 1st Payment (August 2023) – Total: GH¢8.55 billion
PIC: GH¢5.42 billion
PIK deposit: GHS3.13 billion
• 2nd Payment (February 2024) – Total: GH¢9.11 billion
PIC: GH¢5.85 billion
PIK deposit: GH¢3.27 billion
• 3rd Payment (August 2024) – Total: GH¢9.35 billion
PIC: GH¢5.98 billion
PIK deposit: GH¢3.38 billion