When the government announced that its intends as part of debt restructuring to cut bond interest with zero percent coupon rate in 2023 and five percent in 2024, many Ghanaian workers thought it was a huge joke or at best fake news, it was not until the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta , announced it officially on Monday, December 5.
The reason many thought it was a joke was because, Ghanaians are already suffering under harsh economic environment brought about by high inflation and the rising cost of fuel, which have all combined to eat away their income.
According to the minister of Finance, “Specifically, The Bank of Ghana, the Security and Exchanges Commission, the National Insurance Commission and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority will ensure that the impact of the debt operation on your financial institutions is minimized, using all regulatory tools available to them.”
He also revealed that a financial Stability Fund (FST) is being established by Government with the help of development partners to provide liquidity support to banks, pension funds, insurance companies, fund managers, and collective investment schemes to ensure that they are able to meet their obligations to their clients as they fall due.
The move has been rightly condemned by many Ghanaians, including organized labour, such as the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana Medical Association (GMA), which argued that such a move would be detrimental to the interest of workers.
This paper is adding its voice to that of other well meaning Ghanaians that are opposed to the government going anywhere close to the pension funds.
Pensioners in this country, have been through a lot over the years and the government should not under any circumstance jeopardize their hard earned savings by touching their money under any guise and for whatever purpose.
President Akufo-Addo, has a duty to protect the pension funds of Ghanaian workers from any interference that could put it in jeopardy and create more problems for them when they retire
