The retirees wore red armbands and held placards to register their displeasure at their expected inclusion in the program.
Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, the convener of the group told the media that they are “rejecting the government’s 15% coupon rate on the 5 year maturity rate”.
He added, “We want to be completely exempt. We want the government to give us an official exemption like pension fund exemption.”
“Our petition is already with them, so we will picket here until they hear us,” he opined.
In a related development, Professor Godfred A. Bokpin of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) has described the silence of some key stakeholders in this country’s governance regarding the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) as worrying.
In an interview with Star FM on Monday, Professor Bokpin noted that he could not understand why the Finance Minister was not called to question the Finance Minister as a member of Parliament.
“We need all the key stakeholders, you need the TUC at the table, the TUC can’t just wake up because pensions are at risk. What is a pension if the whole country is not well governed? Because if you don’t do this debt restructuring well, adequately and comprehensively it will show up in the next two years.
“If you look at the terms proposed by the Minister even for individual bondholders, you are looking at principal repayments in 2025, at which point they will not be. Even the opposition party is their role in this debt restructuring and what is their contribution? Mr. Bokpin questioned.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has urged picketing pensioners to support the debt swap programme.
He said Ghana’s economy could grind to a halt if it fails to secure a bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by mid-March.
Addressing pensioner bondholders, the finance minister appealed to pensioners to accept a 3.5% reduction and accept the new terms of 15% coupon rate and 5% maturity.