General News of Friday, 28 April 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Sophia Akuffo, other pensioner bondholders to resume picketing at Finance Ministry after failed promises

Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo picketing with pensioner bondholders at the finance ministry Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo picketing with pensioner bondholders at the finance ministry

The Pensioner Bondholders Forum has reportedly notified the Ghana Police Service that it will commence picketing at the Ministry of Finance on Monday, May 8, 2023.

A letter the group wrote to the District Police Commander at Ministries-Accra indicated that it has decided to restart its picketing at the finance ministry because the government has not honoured the promises it made to its members, 3news.com reports.

The letter, which was signed by the convener of the group, Dr Adu Antwi, indicated that the government has failed to honour its promise to pay the coupons and principals of pensioners who did not sign on to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) when it exempted them from the programme.

“On 30th March 2023, we wrote to the finance minister to pay us all our due coupons and principals by 21st April 2023 and stated that if the payments were not made, we will resume our picketing at the premises of the Ministry to further press home our demand.

“We have not received any indications from the finance minister that the payments are being made. Consequently, we will resume our convergence at the premises of the Ministry of Finance on Monday, 8th May 2023 with about 50 of our members.

“We shall converge there from 10 am to 11 am on each working day until we receive payment of all our due coupons and principals,” parts of the letter is quoted by TV3.

It can be recalled that Pensioner Bondholders Forum announced that it had ended its picketing at the finance ministry after Ken Ofori-Atta announced that the bonds of members of the group are exempted from the DDEP while addressing parliament on the programme.

The pensioners had been picketing at the premises of the ministry since Monday, February 6, 2023, over the government’s plan to include their bonds in the DDEP and were joined by former Chief Justice of Ghana, Sophia Akuffo.

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