Members of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum have picketed at the Finance Ministry for the fourth time today, demanding that their investments be completely exempted from the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.
The government has proposed a 15% coupon rate, but a group of about 30 retirees told journalists that they will not accept any haircuts on their investments because their livelihoods rely on the proceeds from these investments.
“The only term we understand now is a total exemption. They exempted pension funds so we the retirees will return to picket again,” a pensioner said.
“I will come and sleep here because the investments I made are what I used to pay for my drugs,” another added.
As part of the contentious domestic debt exchange program, the government has extended the deadline for bondholders to complete tender processes.
The deadline for signing up for the program expired today, Tuesday, February 7, 2023, but the government said in a late-night press statement that some bondholders experienced “technical glitches as they attempted to complete the online tender process,” thus the window to allow such people to complete the process.
It has thus given such individuals three days to do so.
“As a result, the Government is providing bondholders with a window to complete processes for tendering their bonds, in response to the terms of Exchange as amended pursuant to the 2nd Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum. This window ends on Friday, 10th February 2023 at 4:00 p.m. (GMT),” the Finance Ministry announced in a statement signed by sector minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
