President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, is amazed on the labour unions’ latest discovery of government’s intention on the ongoing Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
According to Mr. Carbonu, government had made them believe that pensions funds was going to be exempted from its DDEP.
The assurance followed an engagement between leadership of the labour unions and the Finance ministry after the former threatened to lay down their tools should government touch pensions funds as part of its debt restructuring.
To avoid the wrath of the unions, government assured them that their funds were not going to be touched until learning on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, that government was not going to honour his promise.
Reacting to the discovery, Mr. Carbonu said “I don’t want to believe that there are conmen in government” regarding the Debt Exchange Programme.
The NAGRAT President said the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the labour unions and the government ensured their funds were not going to be touched until they woke up to the shocking revelations.
“I don’t want to believe that we have conmen in government. The Memorandum of Understanding was clear that pension funds [are exempt] as we speak,” he was shocked whilst speaking on Accra-based Joy FM Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
Meanwhile, Convenor of the Individual Bondholders Forum, Senyo Hosi, had said the government was “close to being dishonest” with bondholders following their earlier agreement and what they had discovered.
Reacting to the comments, deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, said it would be better to talk the issues out without politics and emotions.
“It becomes very difficult to engage in public discussions on emotional topics like the debt exchange programme. But I am particularly disappointed in my brother Senyo Hosi because we go way back and I didn’t expect this contribution from him. For him to attack me and call me dishonest and miseducating the public.
“It is very unfortunate for him to come being emotional and talking politics rather than the issues we’re discussing. I am a politician and I can go very political but that is not why we are here, we are trying to encourage people to understand what is going on and what is best for everybody,” he said.
source: onuaonline.com
