The Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) which was introduced to restructure government’s debt to make way for the bailout from the IMF has received fresh criticism from a former Chief Justice.
Sophia Abena Boafowaa Akuffo, has said the programme, is a throwback of the days of the then military regime where decisions were taken devoid of consensus.
The former Chief Justice, a pensioner whose investment was affected joined a group of other retirees to protest against government for the programme which was the only means to guarantee a qualification for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says they were not briefed with contents of the document they were asked to sign.
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In a recent interview with Accra-based Starr FM, Madam Akuffo indicated that government wanted to play a fast one on them by making them endorse the agreement they had no comprehension of.
She remarked that the action from government to make pensioners append their signatures to agreements they had not been abridged with its rudiments was akin to the days of military dictatorship.
“You contracted me, that in return for buying your bonds, these are what I am expecting. Now you want to change my expectations for whatever reasons you don’t do by decree. It was more like the days when you wake up in the morning and by decree, something has happened in Ghana.
“All of a sudden no more 50 cedi notes or all of a sudden from Saturday there is a new currency but the new currency is not in circulation yet. But Saturday, Monday what you have is no longer money, decree. What kind of life is that?” Madam Akuffo asked.
She expressed disappointment with the breach of law by state authorities which sent pensioners on the streets to picket against the government for the frustrations brought upon their lives.
Madam Akuffo firmly maintained her stance on principles and legal adherence in the face of perceived unjust actions by the government.
