Convener of the Individual Bondholders Forum, Senyo Hosi, says individual bondholders need not be perturbed about the ongoing domestic debt exchange programme.

According to him, the official correspondence from the Finance Minister affirming the government’s commitment to paying their coupons upon maturation and their freewill to exempt from the process without any punitive consequence is all the assurance they need.

He was speaking in relation to a statement by the Convener of the Pension Bondholders’ Forum, Dr. Adu Anane Antwi, who was concerned that without the Finance Minister unequivocally stating that individual bondholders are exempted from the debt treatment there could be consequences including the government reneging on coupon payments.

But speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Senyo Hosi noted that there was nothing to be worried about as the Minister has reaffirmed that he will pay all coupons as agreed upon.

“I honestly do not know what the fuss is about. There’s no opt out because somebody is now bringing you an offer, he wants you to rather opt in so by default you’re already out. ‘I want you to please take this instead of what I already gave you. If it works for you please come, I need help’. It’s an opt in, not an opt out. Opt out, it means you’re already in and you’re now finding a way to get out.

“The whole thing about the word exempt, I don’t even know who brought this whole thing together, it was because you see in the memorandum we were talking about the eligible parties to the memorandum, so it was listing the people who were eligible.

“So if it said you’re eligible it means that you’re somebody they can talk to if it works for you. I think that we couldn’t have had a better statement than what we have had today,” he said.

The Finance Minister had earlier today in a statement rehashed “an affirmation that all individual bondholders are free not to participate,” in the domestic debt exchange.

He was however hopeful some bondholders will opt in and exchange their old bonds for the new bonds being offered under the debt exchange programme.

“He didn’t talk about banks, he didn’t talk about insurers, he didn’t talk about anybody, it’s only individual bondholders, so I don’t know what the perturbation, the fret, whatsoever is about. I don’t think he would have found anything better than this. So the Minister has given you clear commitment that he has a contract with you, he’s going to honour the contract.

“He made an offer for you to come into a new contract if it works for you. If you don’t, no problem, I will still pay. He has given you, if you want to use the exempt for you to be happy in life, then the minister is just telling you that you can self-exempt. That is what you have been granted and he has reaffirmed it so I don’t know what the perturbation is. There is no reason to be perturbed,” Senyo Hosi said.