The Individual Bond Holders Association of Ghana (IBHAG) says one of the conveners of its counterpart, Ghana Individual Bondholders’ Forum (IBF) appears to be an appendage of the Ministry of Finance.
The Association said Senyo Hosi has been doing the bidding of the Ministry contrary to the collective position of individual bondholders against government’s proposals on domestic debt exchange.
The Convener of IBF has been representing individual bondholders at the Joint Technical Committee set up by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to consider their grievances in rolling out the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
But a letter to Mr Ofori-Atta on Saturday, April 22 pointed out that the current position of individual bondholders as presented at the Committee level “is a far cry from the primary expectation of our members which is to get their funds borrowed by the government”.
“Some of these views are not even discussed with Bondholders/groups of Bondholders,” the letter signed by lawyer Martin Kpebu, who is a member of the Steering Committee of IBHAG, said.
“It is sad to state that these uncertainties with payments have caused a lot of stress and in an instance death of a member. Government should not be sacrificing the lives of its citizens for its comfort.
“Private meetings between Senyo Hosi of IBF and the Ministry of Finance, are not the solutions to the concerns of Individual Bondholders whose coupon and principal payments have been in arrears for over two months.”
It warned the Ministry to desist from private meetings and rather engage properly with the leadership of individual bondholders.
IBHAG, however, said it will continue to have a working relationship with the Pensioners Forum, which it said “seems to be the group more focused and determined to ensure the protection of the investments of the individual bondholders”.
Source: 3News