Naagyei 90.3 Fm Agyapa
President Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of our ongoing IMF negotiations.
Former Deputy Finance Minister and Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson at a public lecture last Thursday indicated that investors in government bonds and other pension funds will be adversely affected as the government looks to structure its domestic debt while negotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund.
“Restructuring your domestic debt should be thought through well. Imagine the consequences of haircuts. On the face value of your interest on your bond, imagine waking up one early morning only to be told that your GHC1million in government bond has suddenly become GHC700,000 to the extent that the government has taken GHC300,000 of your money, imagine that! Pension funds will suffer a drop in value. Tier 2 and Tier 3 pension payout will drop from already low levels. Tier 1 SSNIT reserve will drop in value, SSNIT capacity to pay pensions will certainly suffer, and Insurance companies’ reserves will fall with implication for benefit payment, unfortunately. Local banks, other deposit-taking institutions, savings & loans, and rural banks will all suffer,” Dr. Ato Forson said at the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) sponsored lecture dubbed “Building the Ghana We want.”
However, in his national address to the nation on Sunday, President Akufo-Addo urged the public to disregard such an assertion.
“There will be no “haircuts”, so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up, Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits.”
