Members of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum have picketed at the Finance Ministry for the third consecutive time to demand the payment of all outstanding coupons and principals on their bonds.
Since Monday, the retirees have gathered at the Ministry from 10am to 11am every day chanting nationalistic songs hoping that their presence will pile pressure on government to honour the about 19 coupons and 3 principals outstanding.
For most pensioners, the delay in payment does not only affect them but their dependents also.
Speaking to Citi News, some of the aggrieved members said, “All we want is our monies to be paid. The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, promised to give us our money, but up till now we have not received anything. We are monitoring everything because we worked hard, there’s no way any of our monies will go unpaid that we will not track. We are not asking for any social services, we are asking for our money. Please convey to the Finance Minister that he must keep his word and pay us. We wouldn’t be here if he had kept his promise”.
Another irate group member said, “I brought my two cousins who are both mentally challenged, they depend on our families to buy their medications. We have travelled two hours to come here to join our fellow Ghanaians to picket so that we can have our coupons. Their medications alone cost over GH¢2,000. Is this right, who do we go to? We want our coupons, very simple, give us our coupons and principals, we worked very hard for our money, are we not human beings? What’s our crime? You have no heart? Look at the elderly sitting here. Tomorrow I will bring the children too because they need their monies for school stuffs”.
The Pensioner Bondholders Forum May 9, disclosed that it will not sue the government over delays in the payment of outstanding coupons of its members.
The disclosure was made on the second day of the Forum’s picketing at the Finance Ministry to put pressure on the government to pay their outstanding coupons and principals on bonds.
Convener of the Forum, Dr. Adu Anane Antwi said the group refuses to go to court because their situation is too dire to wait for the court processes to be exhausted.
“We will not go to court because you can’t wait for your coupons when you are in court, and you are dying. We must put pressure on the government to pay us.”
