The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has rejected the debt exchange program announced by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori- Atta.
“Pension funds are a collection of contributions of individuals. By design, they are meant to protect the vulnerable during retirement.
Any treatment of ‘individuals’ as stated by the Minister of Finance must be indeed extended to all individuals as with pension funds including GRNMA fund, a Provident Fund for over 101,000 contributors who are nurses and midwives within the nursing and midwifery fraternity.”
In a statement signed by the President of GRNMA, Perpetual Ofori Ampofo, the group described the debt exchange program as ‘unacceptable’ as pensioners will be made to suffer the consequences of “government’s fiscal indiscipline.”
“Pensioners should not be made to suffer the consequences of Government’s fiscal indiscipline when they have paid their fair share of taxes, worked to build the economy whiles taking very low salaries”
“It is unacceptable that a government that budgets 18% inflation in 2023 will consider zero interest for pension funds of poor, hardworking, law-abiding citizens within the same period,” it said.
On Monday, December 5, 2022, the government launched the Debt Exchange Program as part of its efforts to reduce the country’s debt burden.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a public address on Sunday, December 4, 2022, stated the following:
“Under the domestic bonds exchange programme, domestic bondholders will be asked to exchange their instruments for new ones. Existing domestic bonds as of 1st December 2022 will be exchanged for a set of four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032, and 2037.
“The annual coupon on all these bonds will be set at zero percent in 2023, 5 percent in 2024, and 10 percent from 2025 until maturity… In line with this, treasury bills are completely exempted, and all holders will be paid the full value of their investments on maturity.
There will be no haircuts on the principal of bonds, and individual holders of bonds will also not be affected.” the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a public address on Sunday, December 4, 2022.
