Gov't to issue 15-year local bond to help clear energy sector debts

The Vice President has disclosed that government will soon issue a 15-year bond to help it clear debts in the energy sector.

The country is yet to clear a significant amount of debts in the energy sector despite introduction of levies to clear the debt.

The Energy Sector Levy was introduced with the aim of clearing the debts of some state-owned enterprises in the energy sector, the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) being the two main state enterprises facing the debt challenges.

The Akufo-Addo government campaigned during the 2016 elections on the promise to scrap the levies hence the intensification of the call in the wake of fuel price increases.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia speaking to JOYBUSINESS at the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meeting currently ongoing in Washington DC, said although the ESL is dealing with all the liabilities of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) government is planning to have one bond which will take care of all the liabilities.

"Government will service those bonds with the ESL revenue so it is a much neater situation and allows space for our energy companies like the VRAs to have a much stronger balance sheet," he added.

He believes this will enable those companies to further grow, be able to invest again as well as attract investment again.

The former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) said in the area of energy investment, he has also been speaking about reviewing the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact with the U.S government.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Wiafe | Joy Business |Washington DC