President John Dramani Mahama has assured bondholders of prompt payment as an additional buffer has been created in the sinking fund to pay upcoming debt maturities in July and August 2025.
Delivering his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2025 since he assumed office, Mahama said his administration had already honored GHS 6.081 billion in cash payments and GHS 3.46 billion in kind to bondholders under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) in February.
“With the transparent and prudent measures we have implemented since taking over this administration, we have built additional buffers in the Sinking Fund to honor maturing DDEP bonds due in July and August,” Mahama said.
Currently, Ghana’s public debt stands at GHS 721 billion, with additional liabilities from state-owned enterprises like COCOBOD and ECG.
Mahama criticized the previous government for neglecting the fund, stating that by the time he returned to office, the Debt Service Reserve Account held only $64,000 in foreign reserves and GHS 143 million in cedi reserves.
“We will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We are committed to prudent debt management to ensure that Ghana never finds itself in another economic crisis,” he assured.
The President’s announcement comes ahead of Ghana’s fourth IMF programme review, which would begin on April 2 to 15, 2025, if successful, the review will further strengthen Ghana’s debt sustainability framework.
Mahama urged business owners, investors, and financial institutions to trust his government’s economic policies, stressing that his government is on track to stabilizing the economy and restoring investor confidence.
“Through fiscal discipline and sound financial management, we will honor our commitments and reset this economy for sustainable growth,” he added.
The sinking fund which was introduced during Mahama’s first administration in 2014, was to ensure sustainable debt payments and reduce dependence on new borrowing.
