DDEP: Pensioners will die if you don't pay us - Dr Anane Antwi to government

Convenor for Pensioner Bondholders Forum, Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, has said some members may end up losing their lives while chasing government for their locked-up monies.

According to him, the health of several members keep deteriorating and need their investments to access health care.

Dr Anane Antwi, therefore, called on government to borrow money from treasury bills to pay pensioners their matured coupons and principals.

This, he said, will help save several lives.

Speaking on Joy News and monitored by GhanaWeb Business on Monday, May 8, 2023, Dr Anane Antwi said, "This is life and death and you will recall that the President once said if you don’t bring the dead back but you can bring the economy back. If you don’t pay these pensioners, they will die because they cannot get their medications, you can’t bring them back so just as the President said, take treasury bill and pay these pensioners so that they will not die."

He also noted that the Pensioner Bondholders Forum will continue to picket the Ministry of Finance until their matured coupons and principals are paid.

Their concerns come on the back of government's failure to honour its agreement to pay bondholders after they were exempted from the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.

According to Mr Anane Antwi, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has failed to communicate why their matured bonds have still not been paid despite his assurances.

The government has failed to honour coupon and principal payments that matured on February 6 and February 20, 2023, although the Finance Minister promised to pay on February 21 after the settlement period of the DDEP.

ESA/FNOQ