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George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, U2 receive Kennedy Center Honors

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Actor George Clooney, singer-songwriter Amy Grant, singer Gladys Knight, composer Tania León and rock group U2 were celebrated on Sunday for their contributions to the arts at a White House reception and a music-filled Kennedy Center Honors show.

The Kennedy Center event, now in its 45th year, recognizes stars from music, stage and screen for their contributions to American culture.

At a reception for the five honorees at the White House, President Joe Biden addressed each artist personally, praising their individual talents and saying they embodied the spirit of the country.

“We are confident that these measures will contribute to restoring macroeconomic stability,” he said.

Under the domestic debt exchange, local bonds will be exchanged for new ones maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032 and 2037 and their annual coupon will be set at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024 and 10% from 2025 until maturity.

The government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a support programme to relieve its debt distress.

The local cedi currency has plummeted more than 50% against the dollar in 2022, while the central bank hiked its main lending rate to 27% last Monday after inflation hit a 21-year peak in October.

Ofori-Atta said the government wanted to minimise the impact of the debt swap on small investors so would not apply the terms to Treasury bills or to holders of individual bonds. There will also be no haircut to the principal of the bonds, he said.

“It should reinforce expectations that Ghana is on its way to an IMF staff-level agreement. We expect the Ghana cedi to benefit as a result,” said Razia Khan, Chief Africa Economist at Standard Chartered.

“There was little question that Ghana needed LCY (local currency debt) coupon reductions to restore macro sustainability. By excluding retail investors, this is likely to be more politically palatable,” she added.

How the plan will impact individuals is still to be determined as many hold bonds through mutual and pension funds.

Ofori-Atta said the government would set up a financial stability fund with the support of development partners to help domestic financial institutions, including banks and pension funds, weather the swap.

“I say to you, nothing will be lost, nothing will be missing, and nothing will be broken. We will, together, recover all,” he said.

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