Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minister of Finance, has apologized to Ghanaians for the hardships they are experiencing due to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). His apology comes after Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong advised members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to admit their mistakes and apologize to Ghanaians.
Similarly, Obuasi West MP Kwaku Kwarteng recently suggested that the NPP acknowledge past and present failures to enable the party to break the 8. During a town hall meeting in Accra on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Dr Amin Adam explained that the DDEP was a requirement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), necessitating its implementation.
According to him, it was never the government’s intention to impose hardships on Ghanaians. He emphasised the importance of debt restructuring for the economy and expressed appreciation to Ghanaians for their support. “We decided to restructure our debts because it was one of the requirements by the IMF. We started with the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the DDEP was a very successful programme, achieving 95% participation. And on this note, I would like to appeal to the people of Ghana to forgive us, forgive us.
“It is never the intention of any government to impose hardships on its people. More so, the NPP government has demonstrated that we want to reduce the burden on the Ghanaian people.
“It was a necessary, very important decision at the time, that if we had avoided it, our economy would not recover as it has recovered today. The decisions we made, and all the support you gave us during the DDEP have contributed largely to the recovery our economy is seeing today.
“This is why I want to appeal to you to forgive us. But also to thank you on behalf of the president for the sacrifices, for the efforts that you all have made participating in the DDEP that saved our economy,” the Finance Minister said.
The domestic debt exchange programme was part of the government’s efforts to reduce its debt burden and improve its debt sustainability.
By: Leticia Osei
