Members of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum say they will resume their picketing at the Ministry of Finance on May 8, 2023, to further press home their demand for the payment of all their outstanding coupons and principals.
According to the group, the picketing will start from 10 am to 11 am every working day until further notice.
Dr. Adu Anane Antwi is the Convener of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum and says members of the group are struggling to survive due to the economic conditions.
“We are saying if the government does not have anything at all, Treasury bill market is still there. They need to pay people because this is life and death”.
“We are pensioners. We need this money for important things such as drugs and upkeep. After serving the nation, you don’t expect pensioners to go through this ordeal for their own money”, he lamented.
Dr. Antwi continued that “the government is the issuer, we cannot suggest payment for the ministry [Finance] that’s why we said we are not interested in anything. If you are an issuer you plan your cash flow in such a way that you can meet the coupon and the principal payments”.
The Pensioner Bondholders Forum last week advised government to seek funding from the Treasury bills market to settle their matured investments.
Government promised to pay the bondholders who were exempted from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), but the Finance Ministry failed to make the settlement.