DDEP was a necessary evil to prevent economic collapse — NPP MP

The Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Nyarko Osei, has described the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) as a necessary sacrifice that laid the groundwork for Ghana’s recent economic improvement.

The DDEP, introduced by the Akufo-Addo-led government in 2022, was aimed at restoring debt sustainability at the height of Ghana’s economic crisis.

The programme restructured domestic bonds worth GH₵82 billion, replacing them with new instruments carrying lower interest rates and longer repayment periods.

Since the exercise, government has made about five coupon payments to affected investors, including GH₵8.55 billion in August 2023, GH₵9.11 billion in February 2024 and GH₵9.35 billion in August 2024, despite public criticism over the losses incurred by bondholders.

Critics have blamed the programme for worsening financial hardship for individuals and institutions, particularly pensioners and small investors.

However, Mr Nyarko Osei argues that the current economic indicators, including declining inflation, reflect the long-term benefits of the intervention rather than new policy measures.

In a social media post on Monday, January 26, the NPP MP said the debt exchange significantly reduced public debt and created fiscal space for the economy to stabilise.

“Even though the DDEP was a very painful intervention by the Akufo-Addo administration that’s what has helped reduce our public debt to the current 45%… It’s this foundation that has set the tone for the current economic gains we are celebrating today,” he stated.

The lawmaker further argued that President John Dramani Mahama himself had expressed surprise at the pace of the economic recovery, evidence it was a process started before his administration took office.

“Yesterday at the 21st anniversary of First Sky Company, President Mahama himself was surprised about the speed of the country’s economic turnaround. His own government was not even expecting such a quick turnaround,” he wrote.