“Labour position is clear: Touch not my pension fund” – Angel Carbonu tells gov’t

The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu has warned government to stay clear off pension funds of workers in its ongoing debt restructuring.

Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews monitored by GhanaPlus.com on Wednesday, December 21, he said labour unions’ position is clear and that is “Touch not my pension fund”.

…”Those statement that government is not touching pension funds. I don’t get it . Look, I put my money with you as an investment and in investment there is an agreed or expected value to be accrued on the investment. The value so accrued on the investment becomes the real money I have with you.  I could have kept the money under my pillow knowing very well that I was not going to get any value on the money,” Mr Carbonu said.

 “What that money provide 10years ago, that money cannot buy today so when you touch my money and come and tell me that you are not touching my principal, what do some people think of us. What are some people thinking?” he lamented.

“Please, the position of labour is clear and it is very clear to government, touch not my pension funds. That is the watch word, touch not my pension fund,”Mr Carbonu emphasized.

Debt restructuring: Government suspends Eurobonds, external debt payments

Mr Carbonu was reacting to government suspension of bond payment in its debt restructuring and its consequences on pension funds of workers.

The government on December 19 announced a suspension of all debt service payments under certain categories of external debt, pending an orderly restructuring of the affected obligations.

The suspension will include the payments on commercial term loans, most bilateral debt and Eurobonds which most of workers’ pensions have been invested.

Workers are still suffering because of your untidy banking sector clean up – Carbonu

Mr Carbonu lamented  workers are still bearing the brunt of government’s 2018 banking sector clean up and will allow their pensions to suffer same.

“From 2018 to date, thousands and thousands of Ghanaians, retirees and non retirees have lost huge sums of money because of the untidy ways government implemented the banking sector clean up. It was very very untidy, there were lot of loose ends. People lost huge sums of monies. And people are still suffering and really under the yoke of those loses as you and I speak today and they do not know where to go to get answers and take their monies”.  

“As we speak no no body have been brought to book and yet people are dying on daily basis and so on and so forth,” he said.

Source: GhanaPlus.com