The Member of Parliament for Walewale, Dr Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, has slammed the government’s decision to resume domestic bond issuance, warning that the move signals a return to aggressive borrowing and renewed debt accumulation.
This follows a press release issued on Monday, March 2, 2026, by the Ministry of Finance (Ghana), announcing the expiration of restrictions on new domestic bond issuance imposed under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
According to the Ministry, the three-year restriction, introduced in 2023 after Ghana’s debt default, has now lapsed, allowing the government to reduce its reliance on short-term Treasury bills and issue longer-dated domestic bonds. The Ministry said the decision is backed by low inflation, improved investor confidence, a stronger macroeconomic environment, and a medium-term debt management strategy.
However, reacting to the development in a social media post, the Walewale MP warned that the government appears eager to return to borrowing, despite what he described as weakening revenue performance and shrinking fiscal space.
“In other words, the government is eager to start borrowing with medium- to long-term instruments in the domestic market. It is also coming at a time that government’s revenue is failing, of narrowing fiscal space that was created by the DDEP as government resumes payment of renegotiated instruments in earnest, the haste to finance the over zealous infrastructure and fanciful promises, the obvious inability of government to stay current on compensation commitment evidenced by the inability to pay teachers and nurses, inter alia.”
He further warned that claims of securing “the lowest rates and best deals” could soon be used to justify fresh borrowing, cautioning that Ghana may be drifting back into another cycle of debt accumulation.
“One would have thought that the government’s rhetorical policy of cutting spending would translate into a reduced appetite for borrowing. Nay, they are in a haste to borrow. We would soon hear this argument – ‘we are getting the lowest rate and best deals. This is historic. Another settings in debt accumulation.”
By: Ekow Annan/newsalertgh.com
