Ghanaian-born American comedian, Michael Blackson, has blamed the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his investment being held up as a result of a debt restructuring program.
Speaking in an interview on Vlad TV, the comedian, who invested some $1.2 million in Ghana’s Eurobond, said the decisions of the former government robbed him of his investment.
“I apologize for blaming my problem on Ghana; Ghana is not the problem. It’s usually the people that are in office that are the problem. So the particular Ministry of Finance from the NPP regime, you know we have Democrats and Republicans here, in Ghana the big ones are NPP and NDC.
“This particular time, NPP was in office, so they are the ones to be blamed for it, not Ghana. Ghana is a great country, with great people. I apologize to my country Ghana for what I said, but I blame it on the NPP, the Ministry of Finance, and the people of that regime,” he said.
The government of Ghana in 2024 announced a Eurobond debt exchange as part of a broader debt restructuring strategy to address its economic challenges, particularly in managing its external debt under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
But according to Michael Blackson, who stated that the investment was meant to cater for a free school he has established in Agona Nsabaa, he earlier approached some government elements to access his funds but was asked to forfeit 10% of the investment as a fee to the said middleman.
He added that he later approached a cousin of the president, who assured him that his investment would be safe.
According to him, he regrets not agreeing to the terms of the middleman, as he eventually lost part of his investment to the debt exchange program.
GA/EK
