President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given massive assurance to the organized labour that the pension funds of its members are safe as the government continues its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). Apexnewsgh.com report The President gave the assurance at the 2023 International Labour Day parade. According to him, the government is aware of the impact of the Programme on workers and as such aimed to explore other beneficial options within debt sustainability limits, especially with the collaboration of Organized Labour and government. “I urged Organized Labour to continue to work with the rest of the tripartite body to conclude negotiation for public sector salaries and the minimum wage for the 2024 financial year as soon as possible”. President further said, “In undertaking the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, we have been very mindful of its potential impact on the pension funds of workers. We will not act in any way to short-change workers in protecting their pensions.” “In this regard, within global risk management practice, the options should include diversifying the portfolio of pension funds from the current 70% in government paper to real sector investments including rail, housing, urban transportation, motorways, and airport as is done by other pension funds.” The Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah who also spoke at the May Day parade, used the medium to caution government not to go against its promise to not include pensioners in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. “Mr. President please, do not touch our pension funds…Protecting pensions is our responsibility and we take it very seriously, to us, our first responsibility now is to continue to protect our pension funds from the domestic debt exchange programme.” “I wish to emphasize that participation in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, voluntary as it was, was critical for the protection of the economy, and the enhancement of our capacity to service our public debts effectively and create fiscal space for our growth and development,” the president said. “In the midst of the current economic crisis, we cannot risk defaulting in the payment of our public debts, which would attract severe consequences – hence the debt exchange programme,” he stated He appealed to all Ghanaians, including Organized Labour to continue with the good relationship that exists between them and the government, stressing that the peace they both enjoy should not be taken for granted. Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com