The Finance Minister has assured vulnerable people who are bondholders of the government’s protection under the debt exchange programme.

According to him, those who are less vulnerable will be made to contribute more under the programme.

“ ..some are more vulnerable than others and therefore some will contribute more than others, but we will find a way to get a formula that protects the most vulnerable and ensure that we are still able to secure an agreement with the fund in a way which would have an orderly adjustment to our macro’s, our fiscals and build a strong economy,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.

He gave this assurance in an address to the press before a closed-door meeting with leaders of the Individual Bondholders Forum on Wednesday.

He also stressed that signing up for the debt exchange programme is voluntary, adding that Ghanaians' welfare would be considered in arriving at a final decision.

“It is a voluntary programme and the expectation is that we have an 80 percent participation,” he noted.

It would be recalled that government introduced a debt exchange programme in its bid to rescue the economy and secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Per the deal, all bondholders will not receive any interest on their bonds for the 2023 financial year.

The payment of dividends, according to government is likely to begin next year, 2024 at a discounted rate of 5%.

In relation to this, bondholders who may want to transfer their bonds will not be able to get the full principal they initially invested as bonds.

But this proposal has seen a mass rejection by bondholders asking to be exempted from the programme.

In a related development, a 77-year-old retiree, Peter Kodjo Nyasepe who cannot walk unassisted, is worried he may not survive if the government fails to listen to the pleas of individual bondholders and exempt them from the debt exchange programme.

Peter says failure to receive a coupon this year would mean death because he can't afford prostate, diabetes and high blood pressure medications.

Mr Nyasepe, has vowed to stay at his bank’s premises until he receives his interest on his bonds at the end of the month.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews’ Joojo Cobbinah, the aggrieved septuagenarian said he opted for government bonds due to his painful ordeal with a ponzi scheme in the past.

But according to him, he is now living in anxiety due to the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange programme which will deny him the returns for this year.

“I gave the money to the Ghana Commercial Bank so they’ll give me the money before I come. I’m going to stay there.

“If they say the money is not there, I’m going to stay there. I’m going to stay there until they carry me wherever they want to carry me because I cannot walk myself so they’ll carry me.

“Wherever they want to carry me they have to carry me and go. That’s the only thing I can do. I cannot fight them also”, the distraught retiree said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has set up a technical committee to further engage individual bondholders on their inclusion in the debt exchange programme.