Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has accused Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta of lacking humility in dealing with exemption demand of pensioners in the ended Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
She explained in an interview at the pensioners’ picket at the Ministry of Finance that the group had sent a letter to the Ofori-Atta on February 7th asking for a formal exemption from the DDEP but that the letter, delivered on the 10th, had gone unanswered.
She said pensioners will wait for when next their bond payments are due to see what line government takes: “So, we are waiting when they become due, we shall see, but it would be better that for all of us and for the nation too, that he responds to the letter that has been sent to him.
“Apart from pride, what else is stopping him from the issuance of a response to the letter?” she asked.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko trended on Valentine's Day (February 14) after his recent critique of former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo elicited a response.
The name "Gabby" at a point came as far up as sixth in the trends as the media extensively reported Akuffo's clapback following Gabby's 'attacks' of her decision to join a pensioner bondholders picket at the Ministry of Finance.
Sophia Akuffo was also up in the trends at a point, against the backdrop of the former CJ's coments which included that Gabby was a disturbance and suggestions that he was pin-brained.
Gabby criticized the former CJ over her participation in the pensioner bondholders picket at the Ministry of Finance on Friday, February 10, 2023.
According to Gabby, the former CJ erred in joining the picketers who were demanding full exemption from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
But Madam Sophia Akuffo, in her response to Gabby during her second appearance at the picket, said the NPP stalwart was a less important being to her and one who does not even hold any proper position in the governing New Patriotic Party.
“He [Gabby] cannot tell me what I need to do and what I do not need to do and it's as simple as that… You know I don’t have time for things like that because people like Gabby are not important to me or to my life, he is a disturbance and that’s all I can say about it,” she told journalists when she joined pensioner bondholder to picket again at the Ministry of Finance on February 14, 2023.
Touching on the government’s stance that the DDEP remains voluntary for bondholders, the former Chief Justice insisted that pensioner bondholders will not sign unto the programme which has since concluded.
“With the way, things are going and from what I sense, there will be a creation of two categories of bondholders. Those who refused not to participate still want to stand by the existing bonds that they have with government."
"My problem with the whole Debt Exchange Programme is the destruction that will come upon this nation which is being done and can last through many generations.
"It took a long time for Ghanaians to buy into any government securities because there was always the suspicion of the unknown and now that is being introduced in the form of the DDEP,” Sophia Akuffo stressed.
You can also watch this episode of People & Places here:
SARA
Former CJ Sophia Akuffo and Ken Ofori-Atta