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Head of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum has asked the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to heed the calls by pensioners to exclude them from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

There have been agitations and requests for the exemption of some categories of bonds from the debt exchange programme.
 
The debt restructuring programme forms part of the requirements for the Government of Ghana to secure a $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Meanwhile, the government has secured a staff-level agreement awaiting the IMF Board’s approval.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, in a statement, has revealed that there is an eighty percent participation in the domestic debt exchange programme.

“We would like to stress that, all Individual bondholders, especially our Senior Citizens, should rest assured that their coupon payments and maturing principals, like all Government bonds, will be honoured in line with Government’s Fiscal commitments.”

“The DDEP is being done to help protect the economy and enhance our capacity to service our public debts effectively. The alternative of not executing the DDEP would have brought grave disorder in the servicing of our national debt and exacerbated the current economic crisis. The Government is, therefore, grateful for the overwhelming participation of all bondholders. Your support and contributions have gotten your country much closer to securing the IMF programme,” the Finance Ministry added.

Pensioners have been picketing the Finance Ministry for a week now in protest against their inclusion in the DDEP.

Reacting to the statement during Peace FM's panel discussion programme "Kokrokoo", Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly called 'Opanyin Agyekum', cautioned the Finance Minister against his decision to touch the pensioners' bond yields.

According to him, the Ministry attaining 80 percent participation is enough, therefore admonishing the Finance Minister to exempt the pensioners. 

"He should make it emphatic that we have got what we want, so we have excluded you (pensioners) to relieve them", he implored the Finance Minister.