Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has criticized the design of Ghana’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), saying it was never intended to resolve the country’s debt challenges.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament on Thursday July 23, Dr. Forson said although the debt restructuring is nearing completion, the country’s debt obligations over the next two years expose a fundamental weakness of the DDEP.
According to him, government is expected to repay GH¢58 billion in DDEP bonds maturing in 2027, followed by another GH¢53 billion in 2028, bringing the total repayment obligation over the two-year period to GH¢111 billion.
“This is the true Agenda 111 Ghana must deal with,” the Finance Minister said.
He argued that the scale of the upcoming repayments shows that the debt exchange programme was “poorly structured.”
“It was not designed to solve Ghana’s debt problem. It was done deliberately to kick the can down the road,” Dr. Forson told Parliament.
According to the minister, meeting obligations of such magnitude requires careful advance planning rather than last-minute interventions.
He added that the current administration has taken steps to strengthen the Sinking Fund to set aside money to pay the inherited debt obligations.
“Under the 2026–2029 Medium-Term Debt Strategy, we pledged 7 percent of non-oil tax revenues, together with proceeds from domestic bond issuances, to the Sinking Fund Cedi Account as a war chest to redeem the 2027 and 2028 maturities,” the minister stated.
Dr. Forson explained that as of July 22, 2026, he said, the Sinking Fund Cedi Account had accumulated GH¢15.6 billion.
He further expressed confidence that the balance would increase to GH¢30 billion by the end of 2026, which he said would be sufficient to redeem the GH¢30 billion DDEP debt maturing in February 2027.
He noted that strengthening the Sinking Fund sends a strong signal to investors, credit rating agencies, and the Ghanaian public that the government is committed to honouring its debt obligations and managing the country’s public finances responsibly.
