APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that Ghana’s official creditors are scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss restructuring some $5.4 billion in loans to the country is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that Ghana’s official creditors are scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss restructuring some $5.4 billion in loans to the country, three sources told Reuters, a key step needed to secure its next tranche of funding from the International Monetary Fund.
The bilateral lenders, including the governments of China and France who co-chair the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), hold around a quarter of Ghana’s $20 billion external debt earmarked for restructuring.
The meeting is again expected to focus on an agreement about a “cut-off date” – the date after which new loans from bilateral creditors will not be restructured, the sources with knowledge of the matter said. Defining this date has emerged as a stumbling block for Ghana in its debt rework.
Some creditors are said to prefer Dec. 31, 2022, as a cut-off date with Ghana having defaulted earlier that month, according to sources.
However, others pushed for March 24, 2020, because that was when the Group of 20 introduced its debt service suspension initiative (DSSI) to help the world’s poorest countries cope with the fallout of the COVID crisis. Ghana did not participate in the DSSI.
In preparation for the Jan. 8 OCC meeting, the Paris Club of major creditor nations, which does not count China among its permanent members, will convene on Friday, two sources said.
The Paris Club this week shared a technical note with other bilateral creditors and multilateral lenders on Ghana, one of the sources said, adding that the group of rich nations is proposing December 2022 as the cut-off date, one source with direct knowledge said.
“Ghana is still about cut-off date, but creditors haven’t agreed yet,” the source said. “If the cut-off date is agreed, that means an agreement on debt restructuring is close.”
The newspaper says that the Office of the President has described as unfounded, a publication on social media alleging that there was a deliberate attempt by the presidency to orchestrate politically motivated changes within the hierarchy of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
Part of the claims are that the changes are with the sole aim of using the military to brutalise citizens during the conduct of the December 7 general election.
The publication alleged further that a meeting was held at the presidency on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, to discuss the so-called politically motivated changes in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
A press statement signed and issued by the the Director of Communication at the Presidency, Eugene Bentum Arhin on Thursday afternoon (jan 4, 2024] said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, held a meeting with Heads of Security agencies at Jubilee House on January 2, 2024, a meeting that had become an annual feature on the President’s calendar at the beginning of each year.
It explained that at these meetings, the Heads of security agencies called on President Akufo-Addo to offer him their best wishes for the coming year, while President Akufo-Addo used the opportunity to express his appreciation to them for their continued commitment to safeguarding the peace and stability of the nation.
“Contrary to the allegations made in the publication on social media, no such discussions about changes to the hierarchy of the Armed Forces were held during the meeting,” the statement said.
It added that it was imperative to note that a change in the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces was usually embarked upon by the President in accordance with the Constitution and well-established conventions, devoid of any political considerations.
It said any future change made in this regard would not be a new phenomenon that should warrant unfounded speculations.
The statement described the Ghana Armed Forces as an important institution of state that had, over the years, built an
enviable reputation for its professionalism in the conduct of its duties, both at national and international levels.
The Graphic also reports that there were a total of 656,591 fake fire incident calls in 2023, the Ghana National Fire Service has said.
The Chief Fire Officer, Julius Aalebkure Kuunuor, said firefighters wasted fuel as a result of the prank calls.
This happened between January and November. 2023.Speaking during the fire service’s 60th anniversary celebrations on Tuesday [Jan 2, 2024], Mr Kuunor said the prank distress calls put the firefighters’ lives at risk.
“When we engage in prank calls, we put incident respondents at risk and waste fuel also,” he stated.
He, therefore, urged the public to desist from such acts, adding that in 2024, the fire service “will not entertain such deviant behaviours.”
Mr Kuunuor revealed that fire outbreaks also reduced by 4.92 per cent. The total number of fire incidents recorded between January and November 2023 were 5,256.
He attributed the reduction to the massive nationwide public fire safety education.
“Through timely intervention of the service, property worth millions of Ghanaian cedis was salvaged,” he said.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press focuses on planned meeting with creditors on restructuring of over $5bn, others
