Ghanaians may never forgive Akufo-Addo and Ofori-Atta for targeting pensioners’ money

Former Cal Bank CEO Frank Adu Jnr says the decision by former President Akufo-Addo and his Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to include pensioners in the domestic debt restructuring will remain a permanent scar on their legacies.

In an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, June 30, he declared that many Ghanaians, himself included, may never forgive them for what he described as a dark moment in the country’s economic history.

“Why would you do that? Why would you go after pensioners’ money?” he asked, visibly upset. “It’s one thing that people can never forgive Akufo-Addo and Ken Ofori-Atta for.”

Mr. Adu, who revealed he lost money himself during the financial crisis, said the pain was not limited to just financial loss but the betrayal of trust in leadership.

“Yes, I lost money. Well, pensioners picketed and the former CJ, Sophia Akuffo, came to picket with us, etc. I didn’t go to picket but my colleagues, pensioners, did.

“Some were working the technical details behind the scenes, and those who were vociferous out front there, but I lost money in the Eurobond.”

He said his inability to forgive the former leaders stems from what he perceives as deliberate negligence.

“No, I will not [forgive them] because I saw them live large. And so why do you want to live large at the expense of my pension? It’s something that should not be trivialised at all.

“To have a Cabinet meeting and decide that in solving the country’s debt problems, we would include pensioners — that’s dark.”

Despite his close ties with Mr. Ofori-Atta, “We are kind of family…On my first trip to the US, I stayed with Ken. We slept in the same bed”, Mr Adu Jnr did not hold back in his assessment of his relative’s performance.

Asked by host Evans Mensah to reflect on Ofori-Atta’s legacy as Finance Minister, he said bluntly, “Disaster! Disastrous. Look, if it wasn’t disastrous, between him and the President, the people of Ghana wouldn’t have voted the way they voted in 2024.

“It’s not me saying it — the verdict is captured in the results of the elections. It’s as simple as that. You do not run the economy where almost everybody is suffering and expect that the people will not object. And that’s what the voters of this country did last year.”

Mr Adu Jnr recalled how hopeful he was when Ofori-Atta was first appointed.

“I remember when he was appointed. I sent him a message, congratulating him and urging him to do the best he could for this country and leave a legacy. That’s what we all expected. We were all very hopeful. But subsequent events have betrayed that hope.”

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