The Minority has sharply criticized the government’s decision to reopen the domestic bond market, viewing it as a foolish and misguided move that could further destabilize Ghana’s economy.
Former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam voiced concerns regarding the move’s timing and economic ramifications during a press conference on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
He maintained that even though the nation’s debt situation has improved, reopening the bond market now might increase fiscal risks.
“The government will take steps to reopen the domestic bond market to extend the maturity profile. The reopening will be executed cautiously to establish large-sized benchmark bonds that will enhance market liquidity,” he said.
However, considering the nation’s financial difficulties, he cautioned that the decision was made at a bad time.
Dr. Amin Adam charged that the government was exposing the nation to needless risks in the bond market by falsifying economic data to show a more favorable fiscal position.
“It’s surprising nevertheless, notwithstanding the improvement in the debt environment, the timing of the announcement of the minister to enter the bond market is not good advice. The timing for the announcement of the minister to open the bond market coincided with the announcement of the elevated fiscal deficit based on their manipulated data, a condition that exposes the country to higher risk of borrowing in the market,” he stated.
Furthermore, he contended that Ghana’s sovereign bond spreads demonstrated how this data manipulation was already hurting the country’s economy.
“The effect of this unfortunate data manipulation is already hitting our economy since they read the budget. The government must know that just by presenting such erroneous data to score political points, Ghana’s sovereign bonds spreads are already widening, nearing 700 basis points,” Dr. Amin Adam added.
