The Minister of State for Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has dismissed claims by former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam that the payment of GH¢6 billion to bondholders was facilitated by buffers left by the immediate past administration.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Ofosu challenged the Karaga MP to specify where these buffers were created in the sinking fund.
“For officials of the former government to claim that these payments resulted from their work, they need to point specifically to where those buffers were located.
Because in order to pay the money, you need to find it and lodge it somewhere. That is what you call a buffer—pending payment at a given date,” he stated.
Amidst commendation for the Mahama-led administration’s swift payment of fourth coupons for bondholders, Dr. Amin argued that the ruling government could not take all the credit.
He stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had already laid the groundwork to ensure a seamless continuation of these payments.
However, the Abura Asebu Kwamankese MP has said that the debt service reserve account has both a cedi and dollar component, with clear transaction records.
Therefore, “If the NPP officials are saying that we were able to pay these monies because they left money in the central fund, it should reflect in the statement of account.”
Mr. Ofosu explained that the last recorded activity in the dollar-denominated account under the NPP administration was on October 22, 2024, with a balance of only $64,387.
Using an estimated exchange rate of 15, he explained that the amount would translate to around GH¢800,000—far below what was required for the bondholder payments.
“We are talking about payments within the range of GH¢6 billion. And you and I know that $64,000 cannot amount to GH¢6 billion,” he remarked.
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