Over 10,000 individual bondholders have petitioned Parliament in the ongoing debt restructuring program by the government.
The petitioners encouraged Parliament to save the 1.3 million Ghanaian individual bondholders who have been shortchanged in the homegrown debt trade program.
Portions of the petition read, “We are unaware of any Parliamentary approvals, directly or indirectly that the managers of the DDE have been granted to make unilateral decisions over financial arrangements originally clad with binding contracts.
“Assuming that was the case, your office would have invoked the principles of fair and impartial hearing for both parties, in this case, Individual Bondholders and assigns of the DDE program to justify their positions,” the petition said.
It said that has been the fundamental methodology embraced in other jurisdictions that ever managed creditors in a homegrown debt trade program.
“Parliaments, by their truly representative nature, will not only consider the overall national interest however precarious, but will also ensure citizens are protected from capricious decisions by the executive,” it stated.
It further noted that the Parliament may have been liberal when it comes to approving expansionary national budgets even in the face of austerity.
“Sirs, let it not be said ever that during your leadership, you looked on when your constituents, whose primary duty to country was service and love through hard work and taxes, were impoverished by executive fiat. Your constituents should never ever be afraid of their representatives. Save them,” it said.
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“Finally, we wish to state that within our group are persons who possess technical and policy skills and are willing to assist government to explore viable options without catastrophically impairing the interest of Individual Bondholders,” it added.