Key Points

• Retirees face financial strain from government debt restructuring.
• Businesses are cutting jobs due to liquidity challenges.
• Ghana’s economic crisis becomes key election issue.

Emmanuel Amey-Wemegah, a pensioner who served thirty years in Ghana’s police force, had a clear plan for his retirement: he would complete building his home, get a car, and invest a portion of his pension in government bonds.

Retiree’s pension impacted by government bond restructuring

Everything was going according to plan until his bank called him on January 6, 2023, to inform him that Ghana was restructuring the bonds he owned.

“I started sweating,” Amey-Wemegah, 63, recalled as he and other bondholders felt a sense of dread and uncertainty.

As part of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout intended to handle Ghana’s worst economic crisis in a decade, the retiring chief inspector is among thousands of Ghanaian private, corporate, and foreign investors whose holdings in government securities were restructured in 2023.

Amey-Wemegah’s narrative highlights the general economic anxiety in Ghana, the second-largest cocoa producer in the world, as more than 18 million citizens get ready to cast ballots in the presidential election scheduled for December 7.

According to business day, the cedi currency quickly declined, public debt skyrocketed from 63% of GDP in 2019 to 92.7% in 2022, and inflation reached a peak of almost 54%, all of which had a negative effect on consumers and forced businesses to reduce operations.

Amey-Wemegah, seated in his home in Dabala, southern Ghana, where his service citations are hung on the walls, stated, “Some of us didn’t realise exactly what the consequences were.” “Our money was stolen by them. “I was sad and devastated,” he said, explaining how his salary was reduced by the restructure. He now prioritises spending on prescription drugs because he can no longer afford to keep up with his car’s maintenance or fuel.

Election looms as economic woes deepen across Ghana.

According to polls, the majority of Ghanaians are suffering from a cost-of-living crisis, which makes it a crucial election issue, according to Mussa Dankwa of Accra-based Global InfoAnalytics.

Voters’ difficulties with the debt restructuring will affect their vote, according to Amey-Wemegah and the consultancy’s owner.

Amey-Wemegah remarked, “We’ve gone to the IMF 17 times,” alluding to Ghana’s IMF-backed bailouts since gaining independence in 1957. “Hairstyles were not introduced by any of the previous governments. What was the reason for this government’s decision? “Why?”

Others, such as Julius Kwadzo Ameku, a rice miller, are unhappy with the government’s overall economic performance.

Ameku, whose company works in southeast Volta, expressed his confidence that Mahama will implement constructive change after the ruling party’s agricultural plans failed.

“All we require are adaptable grants or loans and adequate irrigation. We won’t get anywhere with gold, oil, and other resources,” he declared.