Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a spokesperson for President John Dramani Mahama, has strongly rejected claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the current government was able to meet its debt obligations thanks to financial buffers left by the previous administration.
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adams, the former Finance Minister under the NPP government, recently suggested that the NPP had strategically built financial buffers in Ghana’s Debt Reserves Accounts to ensure that the country could continue servicing its debts.
The controversy emerged after President Mahama directed Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson to honor the fourth coupon payment to Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bondholders. While the NPP took credit for the move, pointing to the financial mechanisms they allegedly left behind, Kwakye Ofosu was quick to challenge that narrative during a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, February 19.
Mr.Kwakye Ofosu dismissed the NPP’s claims, stating that they were “untrue” and urged the party to provide concrete evidence of the so-called buffers they had supposedly left in place.
“Subsequent to the announcement of these payments and the reactivation of the sinking fund, NPP officials have suggested that we’ve been able to meet our obligations because of buffers they left. This is false,” Kwakye Ofosu asserted.
He explained that the sinking fund officially called the debt service reserve account holds funds intended for debt servicing. This account is split between cedi and dollar components, and transaction statements show activity over a set period.
According to Mr.Kwakye Ofosu, the last recorded balance in the account under the NPP government was just $64,387 on October 22, 2024, an amount insufficient to cover payments totaling GHS 6 billion.
In contrast, by January 31, 2025, the NDC administration, under Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, had deposited $96,915,182 into the account.
Further highlighting the discrepancy, he pointed out that before the NPP’s departure, the cedi-denominated reserve account had a balance of GHS 155,463,435 as of January 2, 2025.
Since the NDC took office on January 7, 2025, an additional GHS 9 billion has been added to the fund, bringing the total reserves to GHS 15 billion ensuring coverage for maturing coupon payments due in July and August 2025.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu’s comments cast doubt on the NPP’s assertions, leaving the debate over Ghana’s debt-servicing arrangements far from settled.
