John Jinapor, the MP for Yapei Kusawgu, has asked Parliament to pass a resolution telling Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to leave pensioners out of the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP).
The lawmaker also wants the resolution to compel the minister to ensure that the individual bondholders’ coupons and the terms of the original contract are respected.
“Let us pass a resolution compelling Minister of Finance that all the pensioners will be exempted from this Exchange.
“Also bondholders’ coupon rates, principal and the terms of the original agreement should stand,” John Jinapor said after Finance Minister’s presentation on the Debt Exchange on Thursday, February 16.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament today, Thursday, February 16, 2023, Ken Ofori-Atta said he had met the pensioners and explained the terms of the new bond to them three times.
“Government is committed to the wellbeing of our senior citizens and pensioners. The government will honour their coupon payments and maturing principles.
“I have met with them on three occasions, where I explained the terms of the new bonds. “I subsequently wrote to their convener to let him know that all pensioners who did not participate in the bond offerings are exempt,” Ken Ofori-Atta told Parliament.
Read Also: Resign!- Isaac Adongo tells Ofori-Atta in Parliament
Former Chief, Justice Sophia Akuffo had earlier has expressed displeasure in the failure of the Minister of Finance to respond to a letter requesting for exemption of pensioners from the domestic debt exchange programme.
According to the former chief justice, Ken Ofori-Atta has responded to similar letters submitted by other groups.
Sophia Akuffo said it was becoming worrying that their concerns had not been addressed by the minister.
“A simple letter that was written by the association to the Minister of Finance exempts us from your programme. That is the gist, I always like to distill things to their lowest common denominator. Exempt us; we are pensioners. Up till now, I have seen a copy of the letter; it is dated January 7.
“Up till now, there has not been a note of acknowledgement, and just a few days similar letters that were written to the Minister have been responded to whereby he has categorically exempted other groups. Why? When I cannot fathom the reasons for something being done in a particular way, especially when it has been done for others but is not being done for others, I started getting suspicious; I have grown to be an age where I have seen it all,” she added.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu