Former CalBank CEO, Frank Adu Jnr has said he was a victim of the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), declaring that he will never forgive former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and former President Nana Akufo-Addo for his financial loss.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews, Monday, June 30, the renowned banker criticised the Akufo-Addo government for deciding to use savings of pensioners as part of the country’s debt restructuring efforts while government officials “live large”.
He recounted that he lost his Eurobonds investment in the debt restructuring process.
“I lost money,” he said. “Pensioners picketed and the former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, came to picket with us, etc. I didn’t go to picket but my colleague pensioners did. Some were working the technical details behind the scenes, and those who were vociferous out there, but I lost money in the Eurobond.”
Frank Adu Jnr expressed his disapproval of the inclusion of pensioners in the debt programme.
“Why would you do that? Why would you go after pensioners’ money? It’s one thing that people can never forgive Akufo-Addo and Ken Ofori-Atta for.”
When asked directly by host Evans Mensah about whether he will forgive Akufo-Addo and Ofori-Atta, he categorically refused, stating that he witnessed politicians live luxurious lifestyle at the expense of savings of pensioners.
“No, I will not 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 personal relationship with Ofori-Atta, Frank Adu Jnr described the administration of Ken Ofori-Atta and Akufo-Addo as “disastrous,” referencing the significant loss in the 2024 elections.
“We are kind of family with Ofori-Atta. So on my first trip to the US, I stayed with Ken. We slept in the same bed. So that’s the relationship.
“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 (2024),” he noted.
Frank Adu Jr. reflected on the initial optimism around Ofori-Atta’s appointment, stating that he like many others shared the belief that Ofori-Atta’s experience and sound financial background would transfer into strong economic leadership.
“I don’t know what happened. I mean, 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.
“And that’s what we all expected. We were all very hopeful. But subsequent events have betrayed that hope.”
