APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that S&P Global has indicated to raise Ghana’s long-term local currency rating over the next 12 months following a track record of successful execution under the Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that S&P Global, has indicated to raise Ghana’s long-term local curren¬cyrating over the next 12 months following a track record of successful execution under the Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
In its upside assessment of the outlook of the Ghanaian economy, it said it could raise Ghana’s rating if there was a more pronounced economic recovery, and a strengthening of balance-of-payments perfor¬mance that supports stronger fis¬cal and external outcomes, taking pressure off the government’s financing needs and improving debt sustainability.
On the downside risk, S&P said it could lower the local currency rating over the next 12 months if unexpected negative policy developments undermine access to financing from the local market or official sources, or there was a significant delay in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board’s approval of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility, which was endorsed at the IMF staff level in December 2022.
“Over the medium term, pos¬sible setbacks in ECF execution could hinder access to financing, potentially from other multilat¬eral lending institutions (MLIs), and renegotiation of Paris Club debt. This scenario would likely further damage local investor confidence and could lead to a recourse to central bank financ¬ing amid worsening inflation and currency dynamics, putting downward pressure on our long-term local currency rating,” it said in a report.
S&P on February 24, 2023, raised its long- and short-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on Ghana to ‘CCC+/C’ from ‘SD/C’ (selective default).
At the same time, it affirmed its ‘SD/SD’ long- and short-term foreign currency ratings.
In addition, it lowered the foreign currency issue ratings to ‘D’ (default) from ‘CC’ on three U.K. law Eurobonds, including those maturing on July 7, 2023; November 2, 2025 and Novem¬ber 2, 2027.
The newspaper says that the payment of the coupons and principals of bondholders who did not partake in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDE) will begin on March 13, 2023, the Finance Ministry has announced.
A statement issued by the Finance Ministry on the DDEP and copied to the Ghanaian Times said the Ministry had begun the administrative process to ensure the bondholders who did not take part in the DDEP were paid on the said date.
It said the newly issued bonds had been settled and listed, and would become the new bench¬mark bonds for the fixed income market.
The statement said trading of the new bonds followed the suc¬cessful settlement and conclusion of Ghana’s DDEP.
The statement said the Minis¬try of Finance would work with relevant stakeholders, as agreed, to ensure that “these new benchmark securities become the basis for deepening the domestic sovereign bond market”.
The government last year began a DDEP following the Interna¬tional Monetary Fund (IMF)’s programme to restore and bring the country’s debt portfolio to sustainable levels to ensure macro¬economic stability.
The programme, which com¬mences this year to 2037, would see the government exchange ex¬isting domestic bonds for a set of new ones maturing in 2023, 2027, 2029, and 2037.
Government is seeking to restructure its total public debts, which sit at more than GH¢ 575 billion. For the domestic debt, government is seeking to restruc¬ture about GH¢ 137 billion.
The Ministry of Finance said S&P Global Ratings on Friday, February 24, 2023, raised Ghana’s local currency sovereign credit ratings from selective default (SD) to ‘CCC+/C’.
“This acknowledges the comple¬tion of the DDEP with a suc¬cessful delivery of new securities to bondholders. In doing so, the selective default is substantially cured,” it said, adding that, “The above stated milestone is further expected to accelerate the engage¬ment with our external creditors”.
The Ministry of Finance said the Government of Ghana was engaging its external creditors in view of their importance to the Republic of Ghana.
The Graphic reports that nearly 150 experienced nurses and other health professionals from the Pantang Hospital have left the shores of the country in search of greener pastures in the last six years.
Of the number, 100 are specialised psychiatric and general nurses while the rest consist of doctors, pharmacists, technicians and other experienced personnel in the healthcare delivery chain.
Data sourced from the hospital showed that the number of experienced professionals that have abandoned their jobs started increasing in an alarming manner since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This phenomenon is defeating the efforts of the government to reinforce the workforce of the hospital with the recruitment of an additional 179 staff (professional nurses numbering 129) between 2018 and 2022.
An assessment of the data showed that from a report of eight professionals leaving in 2018, the number gradually jumped to 26 personnel in 2020 and peaked at 64 practitioners resigning in 2022.
The situation became more alarming when 11 experienced professionals, made up of 10 nurses and one doctor, resigned in January this year alone.
The newspaper says that former President John Dramani Mahama, has called on Christians not to shy away from venturing into politics.
He said they should contest for elective offices, go to Parliament, advocate and participate to create a sense of direction to progress and prosperity for the country.
He cited himself as one who vied for the highest office of the land and that “there is nothing in the Bible that stops us from doing that.”
“If you have the ability to participate in leadership, please don’t hesitate to do so,” he emphasised.
The former president said this at the induction service for the Lead Pastor of the Cedar Mountain Chapel, Rev. Stephen Wengam, as the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana last Saturday.
It was also to outdoor the New Executive Presbytery Officers of the church.
They are Rev. Dr Godwin Tito Agyei, Assistant General Superintendent; Rev. Dr Ernest Birikorang, General Secretary and Rev. Dr Simon Abu Baba, General Treasurer.
The three personalities, together with Rev. Wengam, were elected on August 5 last year to steer the affairs of the church.
The event was attended by a host of personalities including the former Chief Justice, Georgina Wood, who is also a member of the church.
Mr Mahama said the church did not only exist to pray for leaders and that it existed to offer suggestions and guidance to leaders.
According to him, the church did not hang in the sky and that it existed in society and whatever happened in society affected it.
The Graphic also reports that Christian Atsu Twasam, the Ghanaian international footballer who died in the Turkiye earthquake will be given a state assisted funeral, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated.
Everything will be done on the part of government to make sure that Christian Atsu Twasam, who President Akufo-Addo referred to as “an exceptional athlete, a brilliant man and a gift to our nation” was given a dignified exit.
President Akufo-Addo made the announcement when the Minister of Youth and Sports and the leadership of the Ghana Football Association and family of the late Atsu called on him to officially inform him about the death of the Ghanaian international at the Jubilee House in Accra today.
President Akufo-Addo said it was his duty and responsibility to make sure a befitting burial was organised and suggested that the sooner they did it the better for all but the decision rest with the family.
He said they should ensure that he was around to represent Ghanaians at the funeral, ”I will feel very bad if for some reason or another a date was chosen where I have obligations outside this country which I cannot over and therefore will not be present.”
He had asked the Chief of Staff, to ensure that they organised a state assisted funeral for Atsu depending on the date the members of the family and the GFA would arrive on adding that “everything will be done on the part of government to make sure that he is given a dignified exit.
GIK/APA