Drop in treasury bill rate fruit of DDEP – John Kumah
Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Kumah, says the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange programme (DDEP) has contributed to a reduction in the rate of Treasury Bills from 35 to 24 per cent.
On Wednesday, President Nana Akufo-Addo delivered the State of the Nation Address in Parliament, highlighting some of the government’s key deliverables.
In a debate on the addres Dr. Kumah claimed that the government’s DDEP was producing positive results for economic transformation, Citinewsroom.com has reported.
“Last week, the treasury bill rate in the country was at 35 per cent. Today as we speak, the treasury bill rate has been reduced to 24 per cent because of the DDEP. We had oversubscription and even at 24 per cent, there is an oversubscription of 121 per cent. We are going to see a further reduction in the coupon rate of T-Bills. What that portends for our country in future is that inflation will come down, cost of borrowing for the private will also go down and this will restore economic stability and inclusive growth of our economy.”
Executive Director of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has lauded government’s decision to reject bids made for the 91,182 and 364 day bills with yields over 35 per cent in a recent T-Bills auction on March 3, 2023.
This, he noted, was a crucial step towards addressing the high interest rates on government securities.
Government rejected all the bids for the sale of Treasury bills from investors on Friday, March 3, 2023, citing concerns that the yields were too expensive to maintain.
It was rather seeking to raise GH¢2.78 billion from the T-bills this week to refinance maturing bills worthGH ¢2.55 billion, but it described the yield as too expensive.
According to sources, the government is now demanding bids for Treasury bills with yields less than 30 per cent, indicating its commitment to reducing the cost of borrowing for itself and other investors.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Joe Jackson said the decision to reduce yields was good as the high interest rates on Treasury Bills were unsustainable for the government and could lead to debt distress if not addressed.
Interest cost on Government of Ghana’s Treasury bills for the last three months is estimated at GH¢4.416 billion.
Government reportedly bought a total of GH¢33.08 billion worth of T-bills in the last three months.
In December 2022, the government secured GH¢12.60 billion at an interest rate of 35.72 per cent.
Government seemed to have reduced its appetite for short-term securities in January 2023, mobilising GH¢7.3 billion at a rate of 35.66 per cent.
However, the government borrowing from T-bills significantly shot up to GH¢13.1 billion in February 2023, at an interest cost of 35.50 per cent.
