The Ranking Member of the Finance Select Committee has questioned the whereabouts of the governing New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) mantra of ‘property-owning democracy’ in the wake of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
Mr. Isaac Adongo who is also the MP for Bolga Central, is of the view that the mantra of the governing party is missing due to Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta’s decision to implement the DDEP. According to Mr. Adongo, the NPP prides itself in owning properties yet wants to take away people’s bonds at all costs.
“You say you believe in people owning properties and the property of people including pensioners in the name of government bonds you want to take it voluntarily by force,” he mocked.
The Bolgatanga Central Member of Parliament (MP) on the ticket of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), raised questions about the NPP’s property-owning mantra while speaking in an interview.
“It beats my imagination the party’s mantra did not come to play in the implementation of the [DDE] programme. Is it a case that the party has thrown away its property-owning mantra in the wake of the programme?”
Isaac Adongo
He commended the leadership of the Pensioner Bondholders, the Individual Bondholders for being resolute in their demands to be exempted from the exercise.
He singled out Mr. Martin Kpebu, Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, SenyO Hosi, Bright Simmons and Franklin Cudjoe for their efforts in the fight against the DDEP.
You Are Not Our Age Mate
Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a statesman and founding member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has revealed that he warned Ghanaians about the ruling party, and yet, they ignored him and voted them into power.
According to him, he predicted the country’s current difficulties and complained about them, but “nobody appeared to listen, and we are where we are today.”
The Statesman remarked, in response to pensioners picketing at the Ministry of Finance to demand a total exemption of their investments from the Domestic Debt Exchange Program and also regretting the government’s failure to comply to their request for an exemption;
“To Ken Ofori Atta, I will only say one thing, he must know that he is dealing with people who are not at all his age group. They are elderly folks, and like Sophia mentioned, he is not treating them with respect, and he should know the consequences.”
Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe
His remarks follow the country’s economic difficulties, which include the devaluing cedi, ongoing IMF negotiations, cuts in government spending and wages to free up funding.
Nunoo-Mensah also cautioned the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, that he should be careful in his actions and mostly with how he deals with Pensioners, because most of them are older than him and deserve to be treated better.
For his part, Nunoo-Mensah, a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, and a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said that there was the need for an explicit issuer exemption of pensioners from the DDEP.
He joined the pensioners in Parliament on February 16 when Ofori-Atta appeared before the House to brief lawmakers on the why and how of the programme.
“Until you have gone through the mill, you will not understand pensioners. Pensioners who have worked and saved money for when they retire are now being asked to pay for government’s mismanagement. This is totally wrong. The money belongs to the Pensioners. Government cannot come demanding it against their will.”
Nunoo-Mensah
READ ALSO: Volta NDC Cautions Gov’t Against Attempts To Gag Ablakwa
