The leadership of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has joined opposers of the debt exchange programme, issuing a stern warning to government not to touch their pension funds.

UTAG says it will not augur well if the pensions of its members are touched in any attempt to restructure the country’s debt.

Government launched the Debt Exchange Programme on Monday as part of efforts to reduce the country’s debt burden.

Speaking to Citi News, the National Secretary of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, Dr. Asare Asante-Annor said it would not be prudent should pensioners be affected by the debt restructuring programme.

“Our opinion is that our money should not be touched, pensions of our members and Ghanaians should not be affected as a result of the debt exchange programme because these are monies that they have legitimately contributed for their entire working lives, and they should be allowed to enjoy it while they are in pension,” Dr. Asante-Annor warned.

Dr. Asante-Annor noted that cutting down on government’s expenditure will go a long way to reduce the debt burden on the country.

“We also ask government to go ahead with measures which will also control their expenditure. We have a lot of local resources that we believe we should make use of it efficiently. We have also talked about the size of government to be reduced significantly so that we know that we all share the burden. Also, some of the flagship programmes will have to be looked at critically,” the National Secretary of UTAG advised.

A number of groups had publicly voiced their rejection of the debt exchange programme.

Ghana’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme was launched on Monday to put the country’s debt on a sustainable path.

The debt restructuring will see a slash in interest payments for domestic bondholders to zero percent in 2023 and five percent in 2024.