The government’s proposed debt exchange program should exempt pension funds, according to policy researcher Ben Boakye. According to him, CEO compensation should be reduced rather than the meager pensions of average citizens.
“In this critical moment, we cannot have the public servants at the top, that’s the Ministers, CEOs not seeing the kind of haircut that they need to have but rather push it on pensions of the suffering masses”, he said. Ben Boakye made a presentation as a part of the Ghana Debt Restructuring Forum, which was put on by Citi TV/Citi FM in association with ACEP and IMANI Africa.
As a result of the government’s efforts to maintain the nation’s debt levels, some citizens have had their hair cropped. To lessen the nation’s debt load, the government started the Debt Exchange Program.
People worry that the government may access pension money as part of the program’s debt restructuring.
Several worker organizations have voiced their disapproval, and some have threatened to shut down the public sector if the government does not exempt pensions from the program. Furthermore, the debt exchange has been rejected by several financial organizations. According to Mr. Boakye, the wide gap in opinion shows that those responsible for Ghana’s current state of extreme misery must bear the cost.
Because of the school feeding program, 300,000 children can currently be fed with the income of one CEO.
The worst aspect is that neither a Minister’s child nor an Executive’s child will smell it. We shouldn’t create a society like that. The cuts that must be implemented must be significant and have a significant impact on those who helped move us toward where we are now.
The overall debt of Ghana increased dramatically over six years, from GH120 billion to GH450 billion.
The debt swap scheme was intended to give the government some breathing room about its fiscal commitments.
