Member of Parliament for Bolga Central, Isaac Adongo has described the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as the biggest risk to Ghana’s financial market.
His comments come in the wake of the Minority’s demand for the resignation of the Finance Minister on the basis of the findings made against him in the report of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice’s (CHRAJ) report on the 2.25 billion dollars bond.
The Bolga Central MP said the Minister poses a great threat to the gains made by the country in putting in place strong financial market regulations.
“Until you get rid of Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta he would destroy everything that Ghana has stood for in the capital market over the last couple of decades,” he alleged.
Isaac Adongo said this has become necessary because of the actions of the Finance minister.
“The CHRAJ Report is very clear that the Public Financial Management Act, which is in the bosom of the Minister Finance in fact it is the primary document that the Minister of Finance is supposed to respect in the efficient financial governance of this country, he has disregarded and breached it.”
“It says that the Bank of Ghana’s own regulation and procedure almost every single one of them was sidestepped in order to issue this bond,” he explained.
He also referred to questions raised about the Minister’s asset declaration form as captured in the CHRAJ report to further question the Minister’s suitability for office.
“He filed his asset declaration form and made sure that even those companies that he registered in Ghana that Ghanaians know, he didn’t indicate them; we know that Hon. Ken Ofori Atta is reported to have interests in companies in even tax havens.”
“You read the Paradise papers; this is a man whose has offshore bank accounts in Caymen Islands and yet even those companies in Ghana, he failed to disclose them,” he noted.
Isaac Adongo also claimed the Finance Minister is still continuing with the violation that has landed him in hot waters.
“Even when people have filed a petition against him, Ken Ofori-Atta now intensifies this singular dishonourable conduct,” he bemoaned.
“In September, Ken went on the market and issued another tap issue, what you call sole sourcing of bonds to his cronies for 2.87 billion; it wasn’t on the issuance calendar, it was just advertised one day and the next day by five hours they are done.”
“In October, when Ken had asked the bank of Ghana to issue the issuance calendar on the 7th of October, by the 10th of October just three days after that Ken appeared and said that he needed another 3.27 billion to be issued on a top or sole source which was not even in his issuance calendar.”
He added: “in just November this year, Ken again went to the market and said he wanted to issue 5.5 billion on a sole source.”
“In total as we if you add the liquidity management that he borrowed in June, we are dealing with 21 billion Ghana cedis of sole sourcing of bonds under Ken Ofori Atta,” he alleged.
He further questioned: “if this is not the most dangerous person to Ghana’s financial future, who else is?”
