Pensioner Bondholders Forum to pitch at Finance Ministry

The Pension Bondholders Forum says it is good government has extended the deadline for bond holders to accept its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

It also laud the government to enage in further consultations and negotiations to ensure the programme succeeds.

However, the Forum says that despite this, they wan full exemption from the programme and must be treated with respect.

“If they renegotiate the terms it will be fine for bondholders and others but we pensioners we want full exemption,” he told a press gathering at the CLOSSAG Headoffice in Accra yesterday.

It said his outfit will lay siege at the Ministry of Finance on January 23 to compel the sector minister, Ken Ofori Atta, to address them.

They revealed that 50 of their members will undertake that exercise, adding that the group had already informed the Greater Accra Police about their action.

According to them, this new course follows the failure of the minister to engage them in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

"We are going to be there from 9am and insist the minister talk to us about this programme," Dr Adu  Anane Antwi , the convener of the forum, told the media at a presser this afternoon.

He insisted that his outfit was not going to acquiesce to the government's programme whether the deadline was extended or stayed.

"We intend to go to the Ministry of Finance this afternoon, and see if the minister will engage us. If he doesn't , the convergence on the premises on Monday is a certainty," he stated.

Dr Anane Antwi noted that the Forum had written to various elite institutions and stakeholders in the country including the Speaker of Parliament, Catholic Bishops Conference, Chief Imam, Peace Council, Christian Council to inform them of their call to be left out of the debt exchange programme.

The forum added that an untold hardship would be meted on their members if government included their bonds in the exchange programme.
He said the forum hoped to continue engaging with the government for a better outcome of the issues.