We Won't Accept Your Apology - Bond Holders To Finance Minister

Finance Minister Of Ghana

Pension and Independent Bondholders are expressing doubts about the sincerity of the Finance Minister's recent apology regarding the issues caused by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

Their concerns arose following remarks made by Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam during a town hall meeting in Accra, where he acknowledged the economic hardships the country is currently facing.

The Finance Minister explained, "We chose to restructure our debts as it was a requirement from the IMF. We began with the domestic debt exchange programme, which was quite successful, achieving 95 percent participation. On this note, I would like to appeal to the people of this country to forgive us.

"It is never the intention of any government to impose hardships on its people, especially the NPP government, which has shown a commitment to reducing the burden on Ghanaians."

Dr. Amin Adam further elaborated, "It was a necessary and important decision at the time. Avoiding it would have severely impacted our development and economy. The support you provided during the DDEP has significantly contributed to the recovery we are witnessing today."

However, Harry Yamson, a member of the bondholders’ forum, told JoyNews that the apology does little to alleviate the ongoing financial struggles facing the people.

"No one can accept a non-apology. This isn’t a true apology; it's essentially asking people to ignore reality," he said. "The truth is that the government is failing to meet its obligations to bondholders. It is more in default than fulfilling its commitments."

Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, the Convenor of the Pension Bondholder Forum, echoed similar sentiments. He noted that while an apology might be accepted, it does not erase the pain experienced during the process.

"Typically, people do accept apologies. But we all know that an apology doesn’t fix the problems caused by one's actions. If I slap you and then apologize, the slap still happened, and that’s the issue here.

"We need to be mindful of our actions to avoid causing discomfort to others."

Dr. Antwi also urged the government to focus on reducing the national debt to provide relief to those who are suffering.

"You can’t claim things have improved when invested funds remain locked in the financial market," he emphasized.