The Dean of the University of Cape Coast Business School (UCCBS), Prof. John Gatsi has admonished the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta to desist from threatening Individual Bondholders with the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) deadlines.

According to him, the deadline for the DDEP is not a prerequisite for the government to secure a bailout adding that other countries have been in negotiation with the IMF for a year and over.

His comment comes on the back of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta saying that without the participation of identified groups for the Domestic Debt Exchange Program Ghana’s economy will collapse.

According to him, the deadline for the program which elapses on Tuesday will not be extended, and hopes that all stakeholders will participate.

According to him, the deadline for the program which elapses on Tuesday will not be extended and hopes that all stakeholders will participate.

However, commenting on the deadline of the IMF DDEP on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, Mr. Gasti stated that the deadline is the government’s own imposition on itself and not from the IMF.

“No resolution has been attained, so I guess this is a deadline imposed by ourselves to ensure that we get our IMF program earlier. So it is not as if we have not been able to reach it today then we have missed the IMF program. It also seems like a blackmail for the parties to force in signing the Debt Exchange Program as if they are saving the country. I also think that is too much blackmail for the Ghanaian people to take.

“There are various approaches to this because the government is getting some exchange programs signed by some institutions. It should augment that with expenditure cut across board. There are areas where the government I think should cut expenditure and need not to cut. The government thinks that we are in difficulty but we cannot behave like we are in difficulty,” Mr. Gatsi explained.

He continued: “Those areas should be looked at and combined, it will help reduce or lower the tension in the country. But the announcement of the fact that we have to have a deadline today so if the deadline is not reached we cannot have a program, that one I consider to be a blackmail.”