THE Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on the government to find solutions that are less burdensome on Ghanaians as it seeks to get the country out its economic quagmire.
“Certainly, it is not in any Ghanaian’s interest to stand in the way of government’s efforts to put the country back on sound economic growth, create opportunities for every business to thrive through the debt restructuring as a panacea to obtaining the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out,” it said.
A statement issued in Accra and signed by its President, Most Rev Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, said the GCBC had been following with keen interest and concern, recent happenings in the country on the economic front and its impact on Ghanaians.
It said members of the GCBC were troubled that the position so far adopted by the government as its lacked consensus, resulting in the strong reactions witnessed in the recent past.
It noted that the far-reaching consequences of the proposed domestic debt restructuring programme on the financial sector and the cascading implications on individual holders of government instruments, “once believed to be the safest investments, are too damaging, not only for investors but also their effects on the bargaining power of households and on the poor.
“The strong resistance to the debt restructuring from domestic resources to meet the IMF bailout conditions is a natural response from those directly or indirectly affected,” it observed.
Options
The statement conceded that the options for the government to resolve the economic crisis appear limited.
It stated that given the issues that had arisen with the government’s resort to an IMF bailout, and the mistrust it had garnered, did not make the domestic debt restructuring option appear viable.
It said urgent situations call for urgent actions and, therefore, called on the government to involve all stakeholders, particularly individual and financial institutions directly affected, and carry them along in addressing the problem.
Debt forgiveness
The statement also urged the government to vigorously pursue some debt forgiveness and/or deferment, where feasible so that if at all, the domestic debt restructuring burden could be reduced drastically and its impact on stakeholders minimised.
To win the international community over in pursuit of this, it asked the government to present a posture that was consistent with the fact that the country was in dire straits or crisis.
“These include but certainly not limited to avoiding the reported expected expenditure overruns in the 2023 Budget; drastic government expenditure control by reducing the number of government appointees; suspending non-essential projects; and a review of the free SHS policy,” it said.
Ghanaians
The statement also appealed to Ghanaians to appreciate the current economic situation and understand that there would be difficulties in the coming months while the problem was solved permanently.
It expressed the hope that with those measures and the co-operation of Ghanaians, it would help in no small way to alleviate the pressure on domestic revenue generation challenges with the IMF bailout condition, if it had to be continued.
“We trust that with goodwill, transparency and commitment to the common good, and all Ghanaians coming together, we shall overcome this crisis with the help of God,” it stated.
Pull Quote
The strong resistance to the debt restructuring from domestic resources to meet the IMF bailout conditions is a natural response from those directly or indirectly affected.