The debt swap package put out by the Ministry of Finance has been rejected by the Chamber of Corporate Trustees.
The chamber claims that the proposal put out by Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta falls short of market expectations, will obliterate Ghanaians’ savings, and further erodes market trust.
The statement read, “We have carefully considered the Minister of Finance’s declaration on the Debt Exchange Programme and are of the opinion that it is detrimental to the interest of contributors to pension systems.”
“The proposal as put forth by the Minister of Finance falls short of what the market anticipates, will obliterate Ghanaians’ savings, and further erode market confidence. This is why we categorically reject it,” it said.
It provided reassurance to pension plan contributors that the sector had rejected the debt swap plan put out by the ministry of finance.
The statement emphasized that as Trustees, “we retain a fiduciary responsibility and are mandated to seek the best interest of contributions at all times.”
It went on to say that although it acknowledges that this year’s inflation has significantly harmed pension fund assets and that urgent action is needed to lower the debt load of the government and restore macroeconomic stability, this action should not be taken at the expense of pension scheme contributors.
We concur with the government’s call for burden sharing, but it must be carried out fairly to benefit all parties involved, the chamber added.
In order to achieve the best result in our negotiations with the Ministry of Finance, it was urged that contributors to pension funds and other stakeholders in the pensions sector maintain their composure.
It continued, “We shall properly inform Members of the conclusion of our discussions.”
