Sophia Boafoa Akuffo, a former Chief Justice of Ghana, has said she cannot be gagged as a pensioner and has every right therefore to speak her mind on issues, especially those that affect her directly.
Madam Akuffo, whose bond government wants to substitute for a new one in its debt restructuring says the decision to include the aged in the programme is “unlawful, wicked, disrespectful and totally wrong.”
“I’m over 70 now and I’m no longer a government employee. My mouth has been ungagged and I’m talking and I say what I feel.
“Quite a number of people here today, when they retired last year, last two years, they put virtually everything they had into government bonds. It’s a contract isn’t it? And you virtually want to, at gunpoint force them to agree with you that the repayment or the yield from their investment should be as you dictating,” she voiced out.
Expressing her worry over the circumstances leading to the adoption of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the former Chief Justice demanded accountability for the numerous bonds raised by the government over the years leading to financial downturn.
“…Why are we in the mess we are in? Nobody has fully explained to us. Yes, debt, okay fine, we took [loans], what was it used for? Where is the accountability? Exactly what was it used for?
“You’re not telling us about how you’re going to be able to make things better but just that help me and I’ll help you. No, you help yourself first. Let me see you do something serious because we’ve seen these sort of things too many times,” Madam Akuffo indicated.
Sophia Akuffo joined other pensioners to picket the Finance Ministry to demand exemption from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. They have occupied the Finance Ministry’s premises for five continuous days.
One of her worries about the inclusion of pensioners bond to the programme as averred is “because you don’t solve your problems by sacrificing the aged.”
READ ALSO: [VIDEO] DDEP: Former Chief Justice joins pensioners to picket Finance Ministry for exemption
Government as part of modalities to make headway with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its bailout has to restructure its debt both domestically and externally.
It had earlier intended to include pensions funds which was resisted by organised labour.
Meanwhile, it later turned out government was clandestinely dipping into the funds despite the agreement reached with the labour unions.
The resistance by the labour unions was emulated by other stakeholders including individual bondholders and pensioners.
As a result, pensioners who have used their pension funds to purchase government bonds have picketed the Ministry of Finance five days running demanding exemption from the programme.
They are raising concerns over their health needs which mainly is sorted from their bond proceeds asking government to reconsider adding their bonds to its debt restructuring.
The programme requires participants to sign documents to exchange their existing bonds for new ones which would be paid in a period longer than the initially agreed one.
The former Chief Justice who is also a pensioner and has purchased bonds with her pension fund joined her colleagues at the Finance Ministry today, Friday, February 10, 2023, demanding exclusion from the programme which many have described as unpopular.
By Felix Anim-Appau|Onuaonline.com
