Convener of the Individual Bondholders Forum, Martin Kpebu has called out Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta for saying Ghana's economy will collapse by March if government is not able to secure the IMF loan.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on Monday, February 6, pleaded with the pensioners to accept a 3.5% cut and accept the new terms of 15% coupon rate and 5% maturity.
“We really feel that government has listened, there is humanity to us, we are protecting the destitute, widows and the orphans and the older people who have worked for this nation. We are in a crisis, we cannot put our heads under the sun and pretend that we are not . . .
“We need to be mindful that we really need to be successful in going to the fund by this March to avoid what we all experienced last year which we all don’t want to experience again,” he stated.
Speaking in reaction to this in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', he asked the Finance Minister not to abuse his office.
"Ghana won't collapse. Anyone who will say Ghana will collapse is being deceitful. It's just scaremongering, which is bad . . . it's just an abuse of office. It's never true . . . in the worst-case scenario, what we would have to do is to reduce the 3 billion," he intimated.
Article 36:1 of the 1992 constitution clearly says "the state shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to secure maximum welfare and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment" . . . "You've not been able to do this yet you want to take what we've struggled to put down," he added.
Ofori-Atta Pleads With Individual Bondholders
Ken Ofori-Atta in his address also called on eligible individual bondholders to voluntarily tender their holdings and participate fully in the DDEP in order to ensure the success of the government’s debt operation.
However, Martin Kpebu has urged individual bondholders not to accept the new amendment made by government.
"We urge our members not to accept this new agreement. They shouldn't sign it . . ." he said.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Don't worry Martin, continue to speak like a serial caller because you already have the peoples' recognition and respect. Behave like ignoramus and spew out anything and everything that will make the NPP look bad after all Mahama will give you an appointment in appeasement if the gods make a mistake and bring him back to power in 2024.
Oh poor Martin, one of the big characteristics of a bond as a financial asset is tradability which is equal to liquidity. Don't mislead investors and I urge people who rely on Martin's advice through contact with him should sue him. Martin wants to be a politician and become rich soon hence all the noise. He will go silent if Mahama wins and appoint him Deputy Minister.
I like the consistency and the attitude of our president in the light of his confidence in the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. Notwithstanding the strong calls for Ken's resignation or dismissal by the President from many political pundits and even within his own party. Economic hardship as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine has affected many nations, including Ghana. However, before the economic challenges posed by the global crisis and the structural weakness of the Ghanaian economy, the Ghanaian economy was one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It saddens me personally that people are asking the President to turn Ken into an escaped goat. The Akufo-Addo government has not done badly at all in terms of infrastructural development, education, tourism and industrialisation if one compares its performance with that of previous governments without the pandemic and the Ukraine war. To this day, despite the challenges, Ghana is developing. To say Ken is deceitful is very unfortunate. Come on fellow Ghanaians!
If you don't understand the DDEP tell us, and we will not fault you because as human rights lawyer your understanding of finance may be limited. Remember that bonds are tradable on the stock market and if you refuse to accept the new offer, you can still trade your old bonds on the market. However, whether you will get somebody to buy the old bond is another matter. That is why the Minister is saying that it is not compulsory to accept the new bond offer but cautioned that if you will fail to accept you must be prepared to face the consequences of non-marketability of your old bond. So instead of advising the bondholders to accept the new bond to avoid this reality, you are rather inciting them to reject the offer. If eventually they lose the value of their old bonds, who will be the cause; the minister or you? Think about it.