Pensioner bondholders have admitted that they are too terrified to speak out, despite the fact that their involvement in the debt exchange plan has an impact on their investments and means of subsistence.
They contend that the government violated the zero-risk agreement they had before enrolling when it decided to include them in the program, which is unfair to them on top of being unfair to the government.
In order to protect herself from attack, a 61-year-old retiree spoke to GhanaWeb Business on the condition of anonymity. She claimed that when she first became a pensioner, the bank encouraged her to buy government bonds and treasury bills because there was no chance she would lose her money.
But since the announcement was made, she has dreaded the decision to partake in government bonds.
She said, “I went to the bank when I retired and asked them for good advice on how I can use my money. They told me to invest in government bonds and treasury bills because there was no way the government will owe me. I only had my first coupon on January 9, 2023, and that’s what I have been using to buy medicine and take care of myself. Thankfully I no longer pay school fees, but other responsibilities demand that I am financially stable.”
“They can’t do this to us. And even though it is our own money, we can’t say much or reveal our identities because of fear of what may happen to us.
I realized that being too vocal in Ghana today will only land you in trouble,” she said on anonymity.
The Pensioner bondholders have stated that they will not partake in the debt exchange programme.