I Can't Forgive Akufo-Addo, Ken Ofori-Atta for DDEP - Former Cal Bank CEO
Accra, Ghana - 1 July, 2025 - A former Chief Executive Officer of Cal Bank, Frank Adu Jnr, has expressed deep-seated resentment towards former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the financial losses he incurred under the government's Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
In an interview on JoyNews' PM Express on June 20, Mr Adu Jnr recounted the pain of losing his investment in Eurobonds and condemned the government's decision to include pensioners in the debt restructuring process.
According to Mr Adu Jnr, the policy was not only financially reckless but also morally indefensible.
He questioned the rationale behind targeting pensioners' funds to address the country's debt problems, describing the decision as "dark."
Despite acknowledging a personal relationship with Mr Ofori-Atta, Mr Adu Jnr was unequivocal in his criticism of the former minister's performance, rating his tenure as finance minister as "disastrous."
“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.”
“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.”
“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 colleagues 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.”
“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,” he stated.
“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.”
Mr Adu Jnr attributed the economic hardship experienced by Ghanaians during the New Patriotic Party's second term to the government's policies, which he believes led to the party's electoral defeat in 2024.
He expressed disappointment that Mr Ofori-Atta's background in international finance did not translate to effective economic management, betraying the hopes of many who had expected him to leave a positive legacy.
“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.”
Source: Lead News Online
