Pensioner Bondholders have adamantly declared their refusal to participate in the government’s freshly announced Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) designed for ESLA and Daakye Bondholders.
The Convener for Pensioner Bondholders, Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, articulated their stance during a recent interview, emphasizing that no pensioner would be accepting the government’s offer.
Dr. Antwi stated, “No pensioner bondholder can ever be targeted because we have been exempted totally. We don’t have anything to do with this exchange at all. There’s no pensioner available now for an offer to be made to, simple as that.”
He further clarified that there are no Category B holders available for the offer and as such, Category B shouldn’t be included in the document.
Dr. Antwi pointed out that the government cannot overturn its decision to exempt pensioner bondholders, as it is documented in parliament records as an unconditional exemption.
Dr. Antwi expressed his disappointment with the Ministry of Finance, suggesting that they lack a proper understanding of the new DDEP. He announced their intention to hold a press conference in the coming days to provide a comprehensive explanation of the issue to the relevant authorities.
“The government announced today, September 13, that it is reopening its invitation to the exchange that settled in February 2023 (the ‘February 2023 Exchange’),” the Ministry of Finance stated in a press release. The government urged holders of domestic notes and bonds to actively and voluntarily accept the invitation to participate in the new exchange program.
The Domestic Debt Exchange Program was initially launched in December 2022 to restore Ghana’s capacity to service its debt.
However, the recent refusal by Pensioner Bondholders to participate has raised questions about the programme’s effectiveness and the government’s handling of bondholder categories.
