Majority Leader in Parliament Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has warned that including individual bondholders in the government’s debt exchange programme without more consultations could wipe out the middle class and will spell doom for the country.
“What we talking about is that many of these bondholders also belong to the middle class and that’s where the major worry is.
“If we are wiping away the middle class that could be dangerous, so we need to have some further dialogue on this. I’m not sure government takes interest and joy in suppressing anyone no government will have any joy in doing that.
“So government thinks that this is the best way forward, however even if it is, we need to engage, reflect and then move on and that will encourage some people who have some doubt to better appreciate where we are.”
This was his response to a group of individual bondholders led by convener, Senyo Hosi and private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu when they presented a petition to him and the ranking member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson in Parliament House on Friday, to convey their grievances to the Executive.
Major stakeholders including economists have urged government to halt the plan and exempt them from signing on to the restructuring deal which expires on Monday.
However, government said the aim of the programme was to make the nation’s debts sustainable as a key component of securing an IMF deal.
Ranking on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson disagreed that government must proceed with individual bondholders.
In the meeting with the individual bondholders, he called on the Finance Minister to immediately halt their inclusion for further consultations.
In the interim, bondholders wait with bated breath on the next step government will take.
But in all this, the Majority Leader fears progressing without caution would not only terminate the middle class but destroy the savings culture of the citizenry which has taken decades of painstaking work to build.
“Nothing can substitute for discussions, round table discussions and engagements wherever we find ourselves in. I think it’s important that we go back to the drawing table to have engagements with the major stakeholders.
“As he said, all of us are in it. And if we don’t manage well, we’ve gone through this before, way back some 25, 30 years ago and repositioning was a major, major difficulty.
“Today many people are coming on board and if this thing should happen, how do we build confidence and trust and reconstruct a new savings culture?”, he said.
Annoh-Dompreh backs majority leader
New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, on Saturday, also called on Ken Ofori-Atta to as a matter of urgency review his decision on the inclusion of individual bondholders in the domestic debt exchange programme.
In a tweet, the Majority Chip Whip described the decision by Ken Ofori-Atta as “unfair” and “untenable” adding that he disagrees with the inclusion of individual bondholders in the debt exchange programme.
The Ghana Individual Bondholder’s Forum on Friday also petitioned the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ofori-Atta to exclude its members from the government’s domestic debt exchange programme.
The forum is one of the groups vehemently kicking against the government’s decision to give individual bondholders a haircut under the debt restructuring initiative.
The forum which consists of persons holding investments in the Government of Ghana’s Local Cedi Bonds, the Government of Ghana’s Local USD Bonds, ESLA PLC Bonds, Daakye Bonds, Ghana Eurobonds, and Collective investment schemes with investments in the above securities said the announcement of the programme “has been extremely unsettling and catastrophic for our membership” and demand that they be excluded.
Let’s Engage Bondholders More –Majority Leader
Majority Leader in Parliament Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has warned that including individual bondholders in the government’s debt exchange programme without more consultations could wipe out the middle class and will spell doom for the country.
“What we talking about is that many of these bondholders also belong to the middle class and that’s where the major worry is.
“If we are wiping away the middle class that could be dangerous, so we need to have some further dialogue on this. I’m not sure government takes interest and joy in suppressing anyone no government will have any joy in doing that.
“So government thinks that this is the best way forward, however even if it is, we need to engage, reflect and then move on and that will encourage some people who have some doubt to better appreciate where we are.”
This was his response to a group of individual bondholders led by convener, Senyo Hosi and private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu when they presented a petition to him and the ranking member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson in Parliament House on Friday, to convey their grievances to the Executive.
Major stakeholders including economists have urged government to halt the plan and exempt them from signing on to the restructuring deal which expires on Monday.
However, government said the aim of the programme was to make the nation’s debts sustainable as a key component of securing an IMF deal.
Ranking on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson disagreed that government must proceed with individual bondholders.
In the meeting with the individual bondholders, he called on the Finance Minister to immediately halt their inclusion for further consultations.
In the interim, bondholders wait with bated breath on the next step government will take.
But in all this, the Majority Leader fears progressing without caution would not only terminate the middle class but destroy the savings culture of the citizenry which has taken decades of painstaking work to build.
“Nothing can substitute for discussions, round table discussions and engagements wherever we find ourselves in. I think it’s important that we go back to the drawing table to have engagements with the major stakeholders.
“As he said, all of us are in it. And if we don’t manage well, we’ve gone through this before, way back some 25, 30 years ago and repositioning was a major, major difficulty.
“Today many people are coming on board and if this thing should happen, how do we build confidence and trust and reconstruct a new savings culture?”, he said.
Annoh-Dompreh backs majority leader
New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, on Saturday, also called on Ken Ofori-Atta to as a matter of urgency review his decision on the inclusion of individual bondholders in the domestic debt exchange programme.
In a tweet, the Majority Chip Whip described the decision by Ken Ofori-Atta as “unfair” and “untenable” adding that he disagrees with the inclusion of individual bondholders in the debt exchange programme.
The Ghana Individual Bondholder’s Forum on Friday also petitioned the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ofori-Atta to exclude its members from the government’s domestic debt exchange programme.
The forum is one of the groups vehemently kicking against the government’s decision to give individual bondholders a haircut under the debt restructuring initiative.
The forum which consists of persons holding investments in the Government of Ghana’s Local Cedi Bonds, the Government of Ghana’s Local USD Bonds, ESLA PLC Bonds, Daakye Bonds, Ghana Eurobonds, and Collective investment schemes with investments in the above securities said the announcement of the programme “has been extremely unsettling and catastrophic for our membership” and demand that they be excluded.
