Pensioners who have bought government bonds will today, Monday, February 6, 2023 picket at the Finance Ministry to press home their demands for an exemption of their bonds from government’s domestic debt exchange programe.
The pensioners who are part of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum, lament that government has turned a deaf ear to the request for an exemption. They believe the inclusion of their bonds will negatively impact their livelihoods.
The closure of invitation for holders of government’s bond to subscribe to the programme expires tomorrow, Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Convener of the group, Dr, Adu Anane Antwi told Citi News, they will continue to picket at the Finance Ministry until demands are met.
“We are pressing home our demand for an exception. That is why we have decided to converge at the ministry from Monday. Originally, we told the police that we will be converging every working day until our demands are met. But for now, we are going there for two days and then subsequently, we see what to do whether to continue or not depending on the response we get from government.”
The group in an earlier statement explained that attempts to have their investment exempted from the programme have not been fruitful, hence their decision to converge at the Finance Ministry until their demands are met.
“On 10 January 2023, we submitted a petition to the Minister of Finance to exempt all pensioners holding Government Bonds from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme on the same basis used for the exemption of Pension Funds from the programme, as the impact of the programme on pensioners who are bondholders will be very severe.
“We have as of today not been granted the exemption we requested. To further press home our request, we have notified the police that about 50 of our members intend to converge at the premises of the Ministry of Finance on every working day from 10 am-11 am, beginning from Monday 6th February 2023 till our request is granted by the Minister.”
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has noted that despite the initial resistance by some stakeholders involved in the Domestic Debt Exchange programme, government is gradually getting the support of all.
Nana Akufo-Addo says the successful implementation of the programme will ensure that Ghana gets the balance of payment support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by March 2023.
The President spoke at a meeting with the visiting German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner.
“One of the steps in the domestic debt exchange is, unfortunately, facing some difficulties, so it has not been concluded. As quickly as possible we are looking at the committee to ensure that all the stakeholders are well engaged”, he said.
