Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a prominent member of the New Patriotic Party, has claimed that Sophia Akuffo, the former chief justice, made a mistake by joining a protest outside of the Finance Ministry with pensioner bondholders.
His argument was that the pensioners should not protest because they have been given the option to self-exempt.
Gabby acknowledged that while she may have good intentions, his impression was that she lacked a thorough understanding of the issues at hand.
On February 12, 2023, he made a statement on Twitter saying, “As an individual bondholder myself I wish to join the others in thanking those like Senyo Hosi, Gayheart Mensah and co, who volunteered to lead the advocacy resulting in a far better offer for individual bondholders (particularly pensioners) than the original offer. Ayekoo!”.
“Whiles I have sympathies for those picketing, I think we should be bold enough to ask them what really is the purpose? Why picket over an offer which you have the liberty not to accept? You are asking to be exempted but from an improved offer programme which is voluntary!”.
“The former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, may mean well but she erred big time in her basic appreciation of the issues. Rather than asking the Govt for exemption at this late hour, why did she simply not ‘exempt’ herself from exchanging her original bond for the new one!’
“Why picket over something you don’t like (the improved offer) when you have the right not to sign up? Sorry, but I struggle to get her emotional outburst over exemption! I hope she won’t volunteer to picket tomorrow and on the same issues when the time to sign up has expired.”
Check out his posts below
During a protest outside the Finance Ministry on February 10, 2023, Sophia Akuffo and other bondholders carried a sign reading, “We use our bond yields to pay our rents, medical bills, electricity bills, and water bills.”
She claims that the government’s decision to include retirees in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) is unlawful.
Source – Tru News Report
