The New Patriotic Party's (NPP) vice presidential candidate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has apologised to bondholders whose investments suffered under the government's Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP).

Speaking on Wednesday, October 16, on Peace FM in Accra, Dr. Opoku Prempeh recognized the sacrifices made by bondholders in order to stabilize Ghana's economy.

He emphasized the vital part the bondholders played in the nation's economic recovery.

“What we have to know is that if we hadn’t met the DDEP bondholders, our economy that has now picked up wouldn’t have been possible,” he stated.

According Dr Opoku Prempeh, the participation of bondholders in the programme was key to the government’s ability to restructure the country’s debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign bondholders.

“If they hadn’t agreed for us to exchange their 95% bonds, we couldn’t have gone through the restructuring process with the IMF, and the foreign bondholders would have not followed for us to achieve this result.”

“They saw that the average Ghanaian has suffered, so they felt compelled to support Ghana’s economy,” he continued as reported by asaaseradio.com

Dr. Opoku Prempeh praised the bondholders for "rescuing Ghana in our times of stress" and said that their choice was crucial in averting a more serious economic disaster.

The implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, aimed at restructuring Ghana's debt and obtaining an IMF bailout, had a notable effect on local bondholders. As a result of their losses, some of them organized protests against the government.

Dr Opoku Prempeh said, “All those who participated in the demonstration, we have to accept and apologise to them for taking them through what we did. It was a decision that was difficult but had to be made.”

KA

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