A five-member committee has been established by the government to coordinate discussions on managing Ghana's debt with participants in the financial sector.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday in Accra, the committee established by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is chaired by Albert Essien, with Simon Dornoo serving as vice chair.

The action is a part of the government's efforts to maintain control and confidence in its current negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The other members of the Committee are Mr Alex Asiedu, Ms Mabel Nyarkoa Porbley, and Peter Enti.

The statement noted, “The Committee will be consultative and will among other things lead discussions with the financial services industry and other stakeholders to provide industry-wide inputs and transmit industry concerns on debt management strategy to the MoF and BoG.”

The statement reiterated the Government’s commitment to protecting the domestic financial sector, noting that: “The stability of the domestic financial ecosystem is critical to a successful IMF-supported economic programme.”

“The government will take all necessary steps to protect the sector as we have done in the past,” the statement said.

It was noted that the government needed the support and trust of all Ghanaians to ensure that a historic arrangement was reached with the IMF.

“We are confident that such engagement and collaboration will enable us to recover very quickly and strongly from our current macroeconomic challenges,” the statement noted.

It was also stated that a similar engagement would be held with Ghana’s external bondholders.

Ghana is currently engaging with the IMF for a loan facility to support the implementation of its homegrown economic programme to ensure a stable and resilient macroeconomic environment, ensure debt sustainability and maintain social cohesion.