Ken Ofori-Atta Speaks; Pensioners To Be Excluded From Debt Exchange Programme

Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta has given the strongest hint, yet that pensioners will not be included in the revised Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

“As I’ve said, our main concern is that, as in any society, we don’t want a society that doesn’t protect the elderly,” he said in his opening remarks before a roundtable meeting with the leaders of different bondholder groups at the ministry of finance.

This is because older people, under the umbrella of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum, made it clear that they didn’t want to be a part of the Programme when the terms were changed to include individual bondholders.

They said that they depended on coupon payments and were too old for the new bonds that were being proposed.

Mr. Ofori-Atta also tried to calm people’s fears that the government would try to force people to take part in the Programme by stressing that it was completely voluntary.

“I think we should make it clear that this is something people are doing on their own. “I’ve seen some very dramatic videos that make it look like the Program has already started, which isn’t true,” he said.

After the next round of meetings with stakeholders, the finance minister was optimistic that the minimum participation rate of 80% would be reached by the new deadline of January 31.

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