By Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Scrutiny, has commended bondholders who accepted losses under Ghana’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), saying their sacrifice was crucial to the country’s economic recovery and the successful completion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
According to him, Ghana’s debt restructuring was a non-negotiable condition for securing support from the IMF.
“At this point, I want to say kudos to those who endured the painful haircut. They are the reason we are seeing the gains now,” he said.
“To all the individual and commercial bondholders who suffered losses, we salute you. It is your sacrifice that has saved the country.”
Speaking on GTV’s Breakfast Show on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, Dr Sarkodie said Ghana had no alternative but to restructure its debt before entering the IMF programme in 2022.
“Our debt was so high that we had to restructure it. In fact, debt restructuring was a prerequisite for the IMF programme. If we had not restructured, there was no way we could have secured the programme,” he said.
The DDEP required domestic bondholders to exchange their old bonds for new ones with longer maturities and lower interest rates, a move the government said was necessary to restore debt sustainability.
Dr Sarkodie noted that Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio has now declined to around 45 per cent, creating some fiscal space. However, he cautioned that this should not be interpreted as an opportunity to borrow again.
“Today, our debt may not be too high, with the debt-to-GDP ratio around 45 per cent. It gives us some room, but it does not mean we should go out and borrow. If your debt is already high, borrowing should not be your first option,” he said.
Ghana’s debt peaked at more than 90 per cent of GDP in 2022 before declining following the restructuring exercise and the relative stabilisation of the cedi.
The IMF has repeatedly urged the government to maintain fiscal discipline to prevent a return to unsustainable debt levels.
Dr Sarkodie said that although Ghana has moved beyond the immediate economic crisis, the country has yet to build a resilient economy.
“Are we recovering or simply buying time? I would say we have recovered from the symptoms we experienced in 2022. What we have not done yet is build a resilient economy. Our economy is still fragile,” he said.
He explained that while inflation has slowed and the cedi has stabilised, structural weaknesses remain in revenue mobilisation, productivity and export diversification.
