Finance Ministry Releases Details of $1bn Eurobond Proceeds

The Ministry of Finance has finally released the full details of the utilisation of the $1billion Eurobond. The Minority in Parliament has on several occasions alleged that the one billion-dollar Eurobond, which was issued in September and was oversubscribed has been misused by the government. But government dismissed the claims stating that the $1bn Eurobond proceeds have not been misused. According to the government, the proceeds from the Bond issue are in designated government accounts with the Bank of Ghana (BoG). A statement signed by the deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, said the proceeds from the Bond are to be used to fund capital expenditure projects, refinance short term expensive government domestic debt and counterpart funding per the approval of Parliament. �This treatment has nothing to do with the utilisation of the Eurobond proceeds and it also does not mean that the proceeds have been misapplied,� the statement added. Below are the details of how the proceeds have been utilised so far i. An amount of US$200 million was planned to be used for short-term debt re-financing. Of this amount, a total disbursement of US$64,993,254.06 was transferred to pay for the maturing 3-year Government Bond totalling GH�200 million on 15th October, 2014. Thus, leaving a balance of US$135.01 million on this item. ii. Secondly an amount of US$250 million was planned to be used for Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) Account. As at 24th October, 2014 the total amount had been transferred into the GIIF Account as a Seed Capital for the Scheme which will be commissioned in early 2015. iii. Thirdly, an amount of US$250 million was planned to be used to fund capital expenditure projects. As at today, a total of US$114.95 million has been used to pay for various projects, leaving a balance of US$135.05 million. iv. Finally, an amount of US$288.71 million was planned for Counterpart Funding. Nothing has been utilised so far, under this component.