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Tag: Dr Adu Anane Antwi

  • Aggrieved pensioner bondholders vow not to stop picketing until coupons are released to them

    Aggrieved pensioner bondholders vow not to stop picketing until coupons are released to them

    Disgruntled pensioner bondholders have vowed not to stop picketing until government releases their coupons to them.

    Convener of the Pension Bondholders Forum, Dr Adu Anane Antwi said pensioners will not stop picketing at the Finance Ministry until closure is brought to the matter.

    According to Dr. Anane Antwi, pension bondholders will resume picketing on Friday, June 2, to demand payment of what is owed them.

    He, however, stated that the Forum will give the Ministry a breathing period of three days starting from Monday, June 5 to Wednesday, June 7 for the Ministry to commence the payment.

    The former Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), says the pensioners will however converge on the Ministry on Thursday if nothing reflects in their accounts by the grace period given.

    “We are expecting actual payment so while the payment starts, we will stop picketing. Until we see something, that is the decision we have taken. Until we see payment nothing will move us from here because we have done it. We have moved on it based on these promises and it is not coming.

    “Within the week, every Monday a coupon or two will mature … so if the coupon matures on Monday, we won’t stop. We think that if the government wants to pay, we will see a sign. If by Wednesday we haven’t seen a sign, then we take it that government is unable to pay and then we come here on Thursday,” he noted.

    His comment was in response to a Deputy Minister for Finance, Abena Osei-Asare’s plea with the Forum to suspend their picketing at the Ministry.

    The Atiwa East MP said the Ministry was engaging the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to pay them. 

    She thus asked the pensioners to exercise patience with the government as everyone knows the financial difficulties the government finds itself in.

    “We don’t intentionally stop them, sometimes it’s difficult, it is the ability to pay and so when it is not there it becomes a challenge. But, we also have to communicate that to you. So, for now, our focus should be on the five outstanding, and then we talk about how we will manage the principal payment.“

    “I sincerely appreciate where you are coming from. This has never happened when coupons are ready for payment and the government is struggling to pay, but currently, we all know the circumstances we find ourselves in, so I will plead with you that let’s sit and clear, and then we will see the way forward,” she appealed.

    Members of the Forum resumed their picketing on Thursday, June 1, over the government’s failure to pay their matured coupons. 

    Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has scheduled a meeting with leaders of the Forum on Friday to discuss the way forward.

    But the pensioners insist on gathering while their leadership engages the Ministry.

  • Akufo-Addo is unconcerned about our plight – Pensioner Bondholders

    Akufo-Addo is unconcerned about our plight – Pensioner Bondholders

    The Pensioner Bondholders Forum has expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s response to its demands.

    A meeting that was scheduled between the Finance Ministry and the leadership of the group on Thursday, May 11, did not happen after several hours of waiting.

    The pensioners have once again gathered at the Finance Ministry on day five of their protest demanding payment of outstanding bonds.

    Speaking to the media, Dr Adu Anane Antwi, Convener for the Pensioner Bondholders Forum lamented that they feel disrespected by the attitude of the government.

    “After we dispersed from the Ministry of Finance, we were scheduled for a meeting on May 11, for 4 pm, but later it was called for 4:30 pm. It was called upon by the Minister of State at the Ministry, Dr. Amin Adam. We were here, we waited for him to finish his meeting, and we exchanged greetings”.

    “We waited till 5:45 pm, the officials we were supposed to meet didn’t show up, so we left. We had to leave for our various houses to eat and take our medications and rest. We are waiting to get a call from them. We are hoping to get a call and have a discussion.

    “We are also hopeful that government will borrow the excesses from the Treasury bills to pay us all our outstanding matured coupons”.

  • We are dying – Old, frail, sick pensioners explain why they can’t go to court 

    We are dying – Old, frail, sick pensioners explain why they can’t go to court 

    Pensioner Bondholders have mounted fresh pressure on the government to release their coupons to them.

    The aggrieved pensioners in making their demand said they will not resort to taking the government to court due to the cumbersome nature of the process. 

    They, therefore, want the government to release their coupons to them with immediate effect since they need them to take care of critical needs.

    The disclosure was made on the second day of the Forum’s picketing at the Finance Ministry to put pressure on the government to pay their outstanding coupons and principal on bonds.

    Convenor of the Forum, Dr Adu Anane Antwi said the group refuses to go to court because their situation is too dire to wait for the court processes to be exhausted.

    “We will not go to court because you can’t wait for your coupons when you are in court, and you are dying. We must put pressure on the government to pay us.”

    Members of the Forum picketed at the Finance Ministry for the second consecutive day demanding that the government pay all outstanding coupons and principal on their bonds.

    This is the second time the group of pensioners is implementing the tactic after they successfully secured an issuer exemption from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) in February.

    The group members on Monday, May 8, converged at the Ministry of Finance to picket.

    Although the government has recently made some payments, the pensioners tell Citi News the lack of clarity and communication from the Ministry makes planning difficult.

    “It is just fair at a certain level you maintain your integrity and word, because you have told the whole world, including us and your creditors that you will pay, now what happens? Nothing happens, we are now in May. Early March bonds have not been paid, you are paying it in pieces, and there is outstanding, and we have to figure out what is happening.

    “If you have a problem, in all fairness, tell us, tell us the specific payment dates, so that the person can also plan, people need money for their medications. So if the payment date is communicated to us, we will know how to plan. It’s all a matter of communication, if you communicate, we will understand.

    “But we are sitting here and we don’t know whether it will be paid or not. You get an alert and the old one has been paid, leaving the new ones. We don’t know what is happening,” one of the aggrieved pensioners said.

    The Pensioner Bondholders Forum has indicated that it will not relent until the outstanding matured coupons of its members are paid.

    Speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Dr. Anane Antwi said all attempts to get the attention of the government to pay their bonds have gone unresponsive which has left them with no other option than to resume picketing at the Ministry of Finance.

    “We have tried to get the government to pay the outstanding coupons, and we are not getting the needed payment that must be made, therefore we had to embark on the protest after we had served notice to the government that if we didn’t get paid by 21st [of April], we were going to resume our picketing to back our demand, and we didn’t get any feedback, so we have to resume picketing.”

  • Take money from treasury bills to pay what you owe us – Pensioner Bondholders to govt

    Take money from treasury bills to pay what you owe us – Pensioner Bondholders to govt

    The Pensioner Bondholders Forum has asked government to borrow from the Treasury Bills market to cover all outstanding coupons and principle on their bonds.

    The government has failed to pay 19 coupons and three principals since February after exempting the pensioners from the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.

    Convenor of the group, Dr Adu Anane Antwi in an interview with the media said the government must find the money to pay the pensioners whose livelihoods have been adversely affected.

    “The government can borrow from the Treasury Bills market to pay us. If you borrow from the Treasury Bills market, it will raise your debt level, but you are faced with a situation where you have to do that for people who need their money for medication.

    “The president once said that they cannot bring the dead back to life, but you can bring the economy back. So we are talking about pensioners who need their money for medication, if you don’t do that they die, you can’t bring them back so borrow from the Treasury Bills market and pay them, so they can live.”

    The government has defaulted on payments for coupons on matured bonds for pensioner bondholders who were exempted from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and to individual bondholders who did not participate in the scheme.

    The Forum explains that the government has failed to pay their matured coupons and principals for more than two months.