We will picket until government pays us our money - Pensioner Bondholders

The Pensioner Bondholders Forum will resume picketing at the Finance Ministry today, May 8, and have vowed that they are not ready to back down until the Ministry of Finance pays all outstanding coupons and principals of bond investments.

The Pensioner Bondholders Forum's convener, Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, claims that his group is willing to announce its presence at the finance ministry's offices until their complaints are addressed, regardless of how long that may take.

"We'd be [at the finance ministry] until just as the exemption was granted us. Once we start, we would be there until the payments are made, no matter how long it takes," he said in an interview on JoyNews.

Dr Antwi, who was a former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), also noted that several attempts to get the finance ministry's attention have proved futile.

"We've all we have to do to ensure that we get our payment but that has not been coming. We have written letters, we sent all that we have to do to the Ministry of Finance and it's ot coming. And so we gave the ministry up to 28th April that was still not paid and we informed the police that we are starting out picketing today. We are ready now to start the picketing today," he noted in an interview with JoyNews.

The Forum, months ago, appealled for government to exclude all pensioner government bondholders from the DDEP, as the programme’s impact on pensioners who are bondholders will be very severe.

Following some back and forth, the government decided to pay the retirees what was owed to them by a specific date.

However, the finance ministry failed to uphold its end of the arrangement after the deadline, which was April 28, 2023, elapsed.

Asked whether the group had received an explanation from the ministry as to why the payments have not been paid despite the assurance, he answered in the negative "no, no, not at all".

"Since the 17th of April, we have not had any interaction, whatsoever," he added.





FNOQ/OGB