Government acting like an armed robber – Pensioner bondholder on locked-up funds

A picketing pensioner bondholder has stated that government is perpetrating robbery on bondholders whose funds remain unpaid despite previous assurances.

According to him, the situation where pensioners are having to picket for their monies is akin to the government taking arms and attacking them.

“In fact, it is more or less a robbery. There is no difference between people with arms and attacking individuals to take their money away. There is no difference between (that and) what the government is doing,” he told Accra-based TV3 on Monday, May 8, 2023.

He was part of pensioners who restarted their picket at the premises of the Ministry of Finance in Accra demanding that the state honours their matured bonds and interests as agreed.

Pensioners stiffly refused to be added to government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) earlier this year and were exempted after dogged protests.

Government has, however, failed to pay their matured bonds as agreed forcing them to return to picketing.

Most of them are concerned about the non-payment because they emphasize the importance of such funds to their lives in retirement. The issue of taking care of their health is a major reason they are calling on government to honour her financial obligations to them.