Member of parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, considers it disconcerting that thegovernment has declined to accept responsibility for the country’s current economic difficulties.
He maintains that government single-handedly dragged the nation into the mess it is in through its fiscal recklessness.
“We keep blaming external factors. Why are we the only country in Africa going through a Debt Restructuring Programme? Are we saying these external factors did not affect others? We have a Finance Minister who refuses to take responsibility.”
“Instead of him [Finance Minister] to tender in a resignation, he has come here to offer dubious explanations,” he said on the floor of Parliament on Thursday.
He further indicated that his records show that government expenditure has gone up by GH¢82 billion between last year and this year.
“How can this be the case, especially at a time government is demanding money from pensioners and individual bondholders?”
“I support a demand for a resolution by this house that the pensioner bondholders, individual bondholders should be exempted from this draconian Ken Ofori-Atta, Bawumia, and Nana Addo inflated debt exchange programme.”
According to a recent survey by theGhana Statistical Service(GSS), four out of every five workers in the public sector make less than GH3000.
Out of of the 688,000 persons employed by thegovernment, 533,179 of them earn less than GH₵3000.
This represents 80 per cent of the total workforce.
The new survey titled the Ghana 2022 earnings: inequality in the public sector also revealed that 104,349 people earn between GH₵3000 to GH₵4999, while 20,606 persons earn between GH₵5000 to GH₵ 9999.
The report indicated that 6,225 people earn over GH₵10,000
Contrary to assertions made by some people that thegovernment has not done enough, Mustapha Ussif, Minister of Youth and Sports, asserts that President Akufo-Addo’s administration has made unprecedented investments in the development of sports facilities.
Addressing the media in Ho and Koforidua after inspecting on-going construction works on the Ho and Koforidua multi-purpose sports centres, Mustapha Ussif provided data on a number of renovation works and new sports facilities the Akufo-Addo government has invested in,to buttress his point of unrivalled investment by the government, running into millions of US Dollars.
“There has been recent talk of lack of Government’s commitment to developing sports infrastructure in the country, but the data and incontrovertible evidence on the ground rather points to the contrary, especially under the Government of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” Mustapha Ussif told the media.
“Until the Government of Nana Akufo-Addo assumed office, our national stadia in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Essipong were deteriorating, as they had not received any serious attention for some time. However, in the past six years under this government, these facilities have undergone major renovation works, which are continuing, to bring these facilities up to standard.
“Also, this Government has invested massively in community sports infrastructure by building close to 100 astro-turfs across the country. Before the Government of President Akufo-Addo, there were only two public astro turfs in the country. To have close to 100 astro turfs, fairly distributed across communities in the country, is a remarkable feat never seen before, which demonstrates a government committed to developing sports infrastructure.”
The Sports Minister continued: “In addition to this, the government has also embarked on the unprecedented nationwide development of multipurpose facilities across the country – that is the 10 National Youth Centres. This audacious, national scale sports infrastructure development has never been witnessed in our country before.”
Concerns have been raised over the slow pace of work for the completion of the 10 multi-purpose sports centres, but theMinister reiterated government’s commitment to completing a project it conceived, beginning with six, which he said are on Phase 2.
“Even though the project (10 multi-purpose stadia) is behind schedule due to several factors, government’s commitment to completing it is never in doubt,” Mustapha Ussif assured.
“We have focused on completing six of the youth centres as soon as possible and work is progressing steadily, as the Ho Stadium shows. Indeed, no one can be more committed to seeing the completion of these projects than the very government which conceived the idea and started it.”
The Sports Minister added that in addition to the on-going renovation of the national stadia, the community astro turfs and the 10 multi-purpose sports centres, government is also investing heavily in sports infrastructure at the University of Ghana and Borteyman, in readiness to host the African Games.
“Government also decided to bid and host the African Games in Accra, in order to offer the country an opportunity to develop more sports infrastructure. Currently, construction works are ongoing at the Borteyman Stadium as well as at the University of Ghana Stadium in Accra. For these projects alone, Government has committed over $200 million.
“This is unprecedented in our nation’s history, and this is a clear demonstration of our government’s commitment to developing sports infrastructure.”
The Minister added that government’s investment on sports infrastructure he has outlined, excludes the government’s collosal funding of national sports teams, especially football, which runs into millions of US Dollars.
Ghanaian medical students studying inCubaon government scholarships are complaining that their stipends for the past seven months have not been paid.
The students lament that the situation is making life difficult for them as they live on the benevolence of colleagues and friends.
They explain that the ScholarshipSecretariathas on various occasions assured that monies would be released but nothing is yet to hit their accounts.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on condition of anonymity, one of the students said he can only hope that some monies would be released soon.
“We are still hopeful that the government or our sponsors– that is the Ghana scholarship secretariat– will get us some amount of money for some months so that things can be easy for us so that living in Cuba will be free for us, and we can focus o our studies,” One of the students bemoaned over the non-payment of the stipends.
He added, “we know things are very hard in Ghana, we all heard the news of happenings in Ghana, but we are still pleading with them to work and get us some amount of money because the situation in Cuba is worse, I know they bear witnesses to that. There are no other means, we don’t work, and the only means to get money is the stipends. Getting money from Ghana is difficult, and it has to come from your parents. Please we are pleading with the officials, our sponsors, we know they do care about us, they should work out something for our survival”.
Due to the terrible condition of the Ejura-Yeji highway, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, the member of parliament for Pru East, has vowed to sue the Ghana Highways Authority.
The lawmaker contends that the stretch is riddled with deep potholes threatening the lives of commuters and creating discomfort due to the long hours spent on the stretch.
Speaking to journalists, Dr. Kwabena Donkor said thegovernment must fix the deplorable highway as soon as possible.
“The highway between Yeji and Ejura has been allowed to deteriorate so much that we no longer have potholes, but we have craters. The Ghana Highways Authority and Ministry for Roads are endangering the lives of the people on that corridor. It takes four to five hours to travel on that stretch because of the craters, the people can no longer tolerate this.
“We will consider going to court to compel Highway Authority to do what the law has set them up to do. The people have a right to safety,” Member of Parliament for Pru East said.
The double-track system used in Senior High Schools will not be aborted this year, this is according to the executive director of the education think tank Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare.
Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Asare explained that the Senior High School infrastructure projects started bygovernmentin a bid to end the system have been affected by the country’s liquidity situation.
“When the double-track system was announced in 2018, government said that it was going to run for five years. Unfortunately, efforts to end the double track have brought financial stress. Ending the double track means putting up more infrastructure. Government went for a loan, the cedi equivalent of 1.5 billion dollars, and later converted it into a bond. 3 years into the loan, only about 3.2 million dollars has been disbursed.”
“Last year, about another 1.2 billion dollars was supposed to be raised from the bond. But then two things happened last year, the first was high levels of inflation, especially in the construction sector, coupled with the low demand for bonds. This means that financing undoing infrastructure projects across SHSs will be difficult. This means that the double-track system may go on for some time until we see an improvement in the liquidity situation.”
Government has expressed gratitude to Ghanaians for their patience and support shown to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), which ended on Friday, February 10, 2023, with more than 80% of eligible bonds participating.
The Finance Ministry in a press release dated Tuesday 14 February 2023 and entitled “Participation in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme”, noted that government is extremely impressed with and grateful for the high patronage the voluntary programme has received.
“The Government wants to thank the people of Ghana for their forbearance and support throughout these very difficult times” the press release signed by the finance minister; Ken Ofori-Atta read.
“The DDEP is being done to help protect the economy and enhance our capacity to service our public debts effectively. The alternative of not executing the DDEP would have brought grave disorder in the servicing of our national debt and exacerbated the current economic crisis.
“The Government is, therefore, grateful for the overwhelming participation of all bondholders. Your support and contributions have gotten your country much closer to securing the IMF programme” the finance minister’s statement further read.
Burden-sharing The finance minister in his statement further noted that even though the DDEP was a voluntary exercise, under the prevailing economic circumstances in the country and in the globally space, Government had to make “a strong but humble appeal to bondholders to participate in the DDEP;
“Seeing it as a very critical act of burden-sharing in the ongoing national effort to tackle the economic crisis, bring back macroeconomic stability and guarantee sustainable growth and prosperity for the people of Ghana”.
“Government in addition, offered alternatives to encourage individual bondholders and retirees to tender for the new bonds which will have wider secondary market circulation.
“The Government is grateful to those who took part in the advocacy in securing an improved offer for participants” the press release by Ken Ofori-Atta noted.
The ranking member of the Parliament’s education committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, has urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to postpone the February 20 reporting deadline for freshmen entering Senior High Schools.
The Akatsi North lawmaker argued that parents will be financially stressed should the government decide to go ahead with such a short reporting notice for freshers considering that the GES is yet to release the school placements for the 2022 BECE graduates.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe said the February 20 date is further going to disrupt the already stressed academic calendar which the GES is trying to rectify by bringing it back to the usual September to July period from the current January to December.
“It is going to affect the calendar because even February 20 is not feasible, and I am of the view that the reopening date should be on March 1.”
He said the prospectus of students varies with respective schools and so ample time should be given to enable parents the time to raise the necessary funds to buy them.
“What you will buy and need to take to the school depends on the school the student will be attending, and I will advise that time should be given to give parents some relief.”
He also urged the government to take measures to resolve the accommodation challenges confronting senior high schools across the country so the double-track system can be abolished.
“Every year, numbers increase, so it should be the priority of authorities to plan ahead and complete all projects on our various school campuses. We should give GETFund enough funds to complete all these uncompleted projects to eliminate the double-track system.”
Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe was commenting on the decision of the Ghana Education Service to return to the old academic calendar which was adjusted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Akufo-Addo has said that the government is committed to finding a successful solution to the problems the country is now facing.
Speaking at the 18th Consultative Council Meeting of the Anglican Church on Sunday, 12th February 2023, President Akufo-Addo indicated that he was aware that these are difficult times in Ghana, just as they are for most people in the world.
“However, with the help of Almighty God, and backed by a sense of determination, hard work, and collective sacrifices on our part, I am confident that we will successfully confront the difficulties, bring relief to the Ghanaian people, and return the economy back to the high rates of growth that characterised the management of our economy in the three (3) years preceding the COVID outbreak in 2020 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
Government, according to the President, “is implementing a number of policy measures to this end, and, sooner rather than later, we shall overcome.”
Anglican Consultative Council
Welcoming the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt. Hon. Justin Portal Welby, and the Anglican Consultative Council, to Ghana, the President told the gathering at the Anglican Church has been a good example of what it means to love one another and give cheerfully to those in need, and it continues to play a significant role in the growth and development of the nation.
“All Anglicans are extremely indebted to the Primate and Metropolitan Archbishop and his team for the dynamism that we are experiencing in the Anglican Communion in Ghana presently. I have been involved, as well as following up with activities, of which I am proud as an Anglican,” he said.
Addressing the financial sustainability strategy of the Anglican Church in Ghana, which seeks to move the Church to a position of self-reliance, President applauded the decision by the Church to establish an insurance brokerage.
“I also wish to congratulate the Bishop, Rt Rev Dr. Daniel Torto, and the entire membership of my Diocese, the Diocese of Accra, for its substantial investment in the area of agriculture, through the cultivation of its one thousand (1,000) acre rubber plantation, the largest, private-owned rubber plantation in the country,” he stressed.
The President continued, “These and other projects being embarked on by various Dioceses are contributing positively towards Ghana’s economic growth and the creation of jobs in various communities. Government stands ready to partner and support the various initiatives of the Church, especially those in line with the directive principles of state policy, to help develop a progressive and prosperous Ghana.”
Sophia Akuffo, the first person to be appointed by President Akufo-Addo as Ghana’s Chief Justice, has expressed her displeasure with the leader for attempting to address his financial issues by manipulating the weak.
She said that it is wickedness for the government to sacrifice the profits of people who have worked their entire lives serving the country, just so that it can solve its own problems of fixing the economy.
Speaking at the forefront of the Ministry of Finance in Accra, where some pensioners have been picketing since Monday, February 6, 2023, she said the last thing the Akufo-Addo government should have been done was to think of touch pension funds.
“I find this wicked; I find it disrespectful; I find it unlawful; I find it totally wrong. Period. Because you don’t solve your problems by sacrificing your aged. That’s the last thing you should do especially when we don’t have any services that are specially geared at the comfort and the relief of the aged,” she said.
The immediate-past Chief Justice of Ghana joined her fellow retirees at the Ministry of Finance on Friday, February 10, 2023, to picket over the government’s intention to involve the bonds of pensioners in its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
Sophia Akuffo, the recently-retired Chief Justice of Ghana, has joined the pensioners picketing in Accra at the Ministry of Finance.
The pensioners have been picketing at the premises of the ministry since Monday, February 6, 2023, over the government’s plan to involve their bonds in the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.
Captured in a front-seat position at the premises of the Ministry of Finance, the former Chief Justice has in hand a wooden placard.
Her placard read: “We use our bond yields to pay our: rents, medical bills, electricity, water bills.”
A civil engineer, Ing. Abdulai Mahama, has urged motorists on the Accra-Tema Motorway to exercise additional caution to safeguard their own lives as they wait for the government to repair the damaged road.
According to him, the building materials needed to fix the road are very costly and government will need a huge amount of money.
He also says that some buildings will have to be collapsed and owners compensated if the road will be expanded.
This he said, might take a while for government to be ready financially so until then, drivers will be better advised to drive with minimum speed and be watchful of the potholes to prevent accidents and loss of lives.
“Let’s just give one advice to everybody, the Motorway has lost its designed speed, the Motorway is gone, now it is only proper that we apply our common sense, a lot of people that are using the Motorway are not first time users. But it’s so strange that they are doing over 120km/h, 140km/h on the motorway, we should be doing something about 60km/h maximum; and when you are behind a car, science tells us that within 100km/h, the minimum distance between you and the other car in front of you should be about 80m when you’re doing over 100km/h”, he advised.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Ing. Mahama also said that most of the streetlights on the road are not functioning, which makes it difficult for drivers to see in the evening when it gets entirely dark.
This, he explained, is the cause of most of the accidents on the road at night. He urged the government to, in the interim, provide solar lights along the entire stretch of the road which can go a long way to help drivers locate potholes and even see pedestrians to aid safe driving.
A political scientist at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has stated that filling vacant positions in the government does not necessarily constitute a reorganization.
He described an insistence on not reshuffling in in the face of credible public opinion as snobbish and crude.
Prof Gyampo’s comments comes after President Akufo-Addo submission of some nominees as Ministers-designate to Parliament for vetting and approval so that he can appoint to them to their positions.
But after rumours of a pending reshuffle, the announcement of the names does not indicate a major reassignment of Ministers to key positions. Many had expected a shakeup of some sort in the Government. But the President does not seem to have seen the need to ‘shake up’ his Government.
“Filling vacant spaces in government is not coterminous with reshuffle. The intransigence about calls for reshuffle is snobbish. Refusing to pander to credible public opinion is no achievement. It is democratically crude,” Prof asserted.
Trade Minister Alan Kyeremanten and Agriculture Minister Owusu Afriyie Akoto resigned to pursue their presidential ambitions while Deputy Finance Minister Charles Adu Boahen was relieved of his position in the wake of a bribery scandal. All of them have been replaced.
Review names and designations submitted to Parliament below for its action, according to the Parliament of Ghana.
Hon Kobina Tahiru Hammond – Minister for Trade and Industry
Hon Bryan Acheampong – Minister for Food and Agriculture
Hon Stephen Asamoah Boateng – Minister for Chieftancy and Religious Affairs
Hon Mohammed Anim Adam – Minister of State in the Finance ministry
Hon Osei Bonsu Amoah – Minister of State, Local Government
Hon Herbert Krapah – Deputy Minister for Energy
Hon Dr Stephen Amoah – Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry
The Central Bank’s auction results show that the 91, 182, and 364-day treasury bills brought in GH1.95 billion for the government.
The aim of GH 1.423 billion is still 530.83 million away.
The 91-day bill, which raised GH1.571.46 billion and the 182-day bill, raised GH382.37 million, attracted the majority of subscriptions.
However, the interest rates were generally around 35%.
On the other hand, the 365-day charge was not a part of the subscriptions from the previous week.
The increase in the subscription is an indication of investor confidence as the government has made some significant progress in the debt exchange programme.
Individual bondholders are still calling on the government to exclude them from the programme, however, as the deadline for the invitation draws nigh government is yet to announce their exclusion or otherwise.
However, the deadline for the debt exchange programme is February 7, 2023.
But pensioner bondholders have picketed the Finance Ministry to demand a total exemption from the debt exchange programme.
According to President Akufo-Addo, government is dedicated to ensuring that the insurgency in Burkina Faso is brought to a close.
Nana Akufo-Addo says the Burkinabees who are fleeing their country have identified Ghana as a safe haven.
Speaking at a meeting with the German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner at the Jubilee House in Accra.,
Nana Akufo-Addo says the government of Ghana is committed to ensuring the insurgency in Burkina Faso is brought to an end.
“We are talking about a substantial number of people who are already coming southwards as a result of the difficulties in Burkina Faso. We have a direct, important and strategic interest in doing whatever we can to bring this insurgency to an end and help stabilise the issues in Burkina Faso.”
Ghana and Burkina Faso have reaffirmed their commitment to work together in fighting terrorism in the sub-region.
Ghana’s National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah disclosed this to journalists in Ouagadougou on Wednesday 21st December 2022 after conveying a message from President Akufo-Addo to the Burkinabe leader, President Ibrahim Traore.
Mr Kan-Dapaah led a high-level delegation from Ghana which also included Security chiefs and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Flanked by the Burkinabe Foreign Minister Madame Olivia Rouamba, Mr Kan-Dapaah said “the two countries reviewed the strong cooperation between them and clarified to their mutual satisfaction recent reported discussions between Ghana and the United States with regard to the needed partnerships for sustainable peace in the region”.
The Minister indicated that both countries have reaffirmed their support for a common fight against terrorism, welcoming early operationalization of the Accra Initiative to enable Burkina Faso to defeat the terrorists who have brought untold hardship and pain to the Burkinabe people.
“In that respect, we discussed concrete support that Ghana has advocated for Burkina Faso in the Accra Initiative and ECOWAS and called on the West African States to act expeditiously on the matter,” he said.
The two countries also highlighted the importance of building resilience in vulnerable communities and support for those that have been displaced or lost livelihoods and called for genuine partnership with the international community in this regard.
Ghana and Burkina Faso committed to holding more regular consultations.
Earlier Mr Kan-Dapaah and his delegation were welcomed by a retinue of religious and traditional leaders.
Together, they reaffirmed the common histories and traditions of Ghana and Burkina Faso and agreed to explore the possibility of periodic visitor exchange with their counterparts in Ghana.
Sam Nartey George, the representative for Ningo Prampram, has called the God-for-Oil policy government is enforcing a hoax.
According to him, the aim of the policy is to reduce the prices of oil products but the prices of these items are set to increase again this February.
Speaking in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Sam George added that just like the Sinohydro deal, which was said to be a barter trade deal, the God-for-Oil policy will end up increasing the country’s indebtedness.
“The whole concept that has been built is simply part of the sloganeering of the NPP. They have built a smoke screen and behind the smoke screen are individual interests aligned with the NPP… at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.
“Dr Bawumia promised us that the God-for-Oil will give us cheaper products but this week, the prices are going up… it is obvious and clear that this God-for-Oil is a scam,” he said.
The MP added that the policy is shrouded with a lot of inconsistencies and a lack of transparency with most of the parties involved in it not known to the people of Ghana.
“We need to know who is the intermediary, and how was the intermediary selected. Who are those we are buying the product from? At what price are were being given the product, are they higher than spot price or are they market premium prices or are they lower than the market premium prices,” he said.
Background:
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, in November 2022, announced the government’s plan to undertake the gold-for-oil initiative. The deal was hinged on buying oil products with Ghana’s gold instead of the US dollar.
Dr Bawumia, in a post shared on Facebook, explained that the usage of gold to purchase oil would address Ghana’s dwindling foreign reserves as well as reduce demand for US dollars by oil importers.
“It will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency,” the vice president earlier wrote.
Under the policy, the government believes that using gold to purchase oil products would also bring stability to the exchange rate market and ensure domestic oil operators do not solely depend on foreign exchange to import products.
According to Secretary General of the National Tenants Organization of Ghana, Mr. Fredrick Opoku, the union was not consulted before the government introduced the National Rental Assistance Scheme.
He explained stated that, the union represents the interest of tenants, so their opinion should have been sought.
He expressed his disappointment while speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
Mr. Opoku emphasized that, a major challenge tenants face is the unavailability of accommodation and affordable housing and urged the government to build more houses to support the scheme.
He also called for the development of a “rent-to-own” policy that will enable tenants to rent houses built by government and own later after an agreed payment scheme.
The Rental Assistance Scheme aims at providing safe, comfortable and affordable housing for lower income households and youth in the country. The Scheme will provide rent loans to eligible Ghanaians who are 18 years and above with a verifiable and regular income.
This loan is to be paid on monthly basis by the beneficiary (tenant), not exceeding 30% of his/her household income, to match the tenure of the rent.
Also speaking was the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association, Mr. Samuel Amegayibor who indicated that the Scheme should address the rent law, which required tenants not to pay more than six-month advance rent.
“The intervention is not exactly in favour of the populace, it has implementation challenges with the rent advance timelines, which needed to be addressed”, he said.
He believes that government should rather prioritize the provision of affordable housing and not the introduction of such schemes.
However, some tenants and landlords have expressed their content and satisfaction with the scheme and called for it to be more sustainable.
Daniel Quarcoe, a landlord at Kaneshie, said the Scheme would relieve them of rent payment delays from tenants. He said it would address the challenges property owners had with tenants over the deadline of payment of rent.
Mr Eric Allotey, a Tenant at North Kaneshie, said the features of the Scheme on the internet should advertise houses available for rent. He said that would save them the stress of going to look for accommodation and challenges with middlemen.
Mr Yaw Manu, a Tenant at Osu, said the Scheme should not be limited to public servants or persons with well-structured income but all Ghanaians.
As much as some may have decided to live in denial, perhaps a way to cope as times have become really hard for all, no level of partisanship will insulate any of us from the plagues and harsh realities that the failing economy has come with. The debt restructuring programme tailored for domestic bondholders is like a pebble in the shoes of Ghanaians.This is so ridiculous and feels like a dream.
In the heat of all the turmoil, our president is bent on building a cathedral. If he has failed woefully in building an economy, what could be the source of his motivation of building a cathedral for God. At least I know pleasing humans is far more easier than pleasing God. What happened to our dear president? What happened to our priorities as a nation? I am at a fix.
As I judiciously manage what I have in hand, I can’t help but share my daily experience. Each day my phone rings, my heart beats faster as it is most likely to be another contact that may eventually say the words “can you do me a favor”. No disrespect intended but times are really hard and people who respect themselves, very independent, responsible and self reliant have been humbled by the difficult times and can’t help but ask for financial assistance from others. People are becoming destitute. “Helpers” are looking for help themselves so how can they even be helpful to others?
And I have seen and heard divided opinions about the popularity of religious fellowships like “Alpha Hour”.However, this is very much a sign that things are hard.The religiosity of Africans appreciates in the face of hardship.Religion remains “the opiate of the masses”.
In times like this, it is surprising that government is still showing opulence and seem detached from the terrible experience of the masses.It feels Ghanians are being taken for granted and government seems insensitive.Times are hard yet decisions of our leaders continue to be bad.
Couple of days ago, two ministers resign from the present administration,with the hope of being elected as presidential candidates for the 2024 elections.Well wish them the best.
I am sure the president will soon make appointments to fill the void. However, as a well meaning Ghanaians, Mr President, may I know when you intend to shrink your government? Ghanaians are growing LEAN but your government is not LEAN. Ghanaians are struggling to eat three square meals. The pattern for eating lately has become 011,101,001,010 for many.
Why will you be defiant in down sizing your herd of elephants to have a LEAN government? Many ministries in your government are a duplication of others and a wastage. This may save the taxpayers money and inspire confidence in resuscitating the economy but you have taken an entrenched position.
With 30 ministries, packed with 30 ministers and about 2 or 3 deputy ministers. 16 regional ministers with their deputies and more who haven’t given Ghanaians value for the tax payers money and yet they remain leaches on our economy.
This is a government of “elephants” who have a big appetite naturally so it has taken a fortune to maintain them.Now they are eating Ghanaians out of their own home.A lot of ministers and ministries bring nothing to the table and are white elephants.Yet our government refuses to downsize.
The economy we have toiled to build is facing structure failure.The weight of running the government in itself is to huge.It is costing tax payers too much and the president must be bold to down size his cabinet. GHANAIANS ARE GROWING LEAN,BUT THE GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO BECOME LEAN. May God help Mother Ghana.
Source: Dumenu Charles Selorm
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
By the end of this week, the joint technical committee that is addressing the issues raised by certain bondholders should have concluded its duty.
The committee comprising representatives from the government and the bondholders have been meeting and exchanging ideas since Thursday, January 19, 2023.
According to Citi News sources, the bondholders who held a town hall meeting on Sunday welcomed the idea of the committee only if it helps in exempting them from the programme.
In an interview with Citi News, one of the lawyers for the bondholders, Martin Kpebu indicated that his clients are only in favour of a decision that excludes them from the debt exchange programme.
“So for them, they are happy as long as the result will be that individual bondholders are exempted. So it’s not like they wholeheartedly embrace the committee. They gave a caveat that this committee is welcomed only if it results in the exemption of individual bondholders. That is the kind of reception it had. Let’s hope that the committee will finish up its work this week and present its report and that the Finance Minister will grant a 100% exemption of individual bondholders from the DDE. We will finish [our work] this week,” Martin Kpebu expressed.
Databank, a company partly owned by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has reportedly bagged GH₵159million from government for its Transaction Advisory services on government bond issuance since 2017.
The claim is being made by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor who said his calculations were based on a document supplied to the committee that probed the Vote of Censure motion against Ken Ofori-Atta last month.
In a tabular representation of the figures, Dafeamekpor alleged that government paid GH ₵85 million to Databank in 2021. The lowest figure was 2019 where GH₵11.83million was paid to Databank.
The document, posted on social media, was captioned: “This is how much Ken Ofori Atta and his company have made from the borrowings he’s made so far for this Govt….very staggering amount of money in fees. How much taxes has he paid on these huge fees earned from the borrowings?”
One of the grounds for the censure motion against Ken Ofori-Atta was claim of conflict of interest over the involvement of Databank in Government of Ghana’s Capital Market transactions.
His counsel at the time, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko defended that the Commission of Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and not Parliament was clothed with the power to investigate issues of conflict of interest.
After rounds of legal banter between Gabby Otchere-Darko and Dr Dominic Ayine who was the co-chair of the committee, conflict of interest was struck out as one of the grounds for the investigations.
One of Ofori-Atta’s deputies, John Ampontuah Kumah asked critics of the Finance Minister to seek interpretation at the Supreme Court over the matter.
“Those who are so pained by the current situation should go to court, the Supreme Court or the High Court. So that we can all be guided because, as far as I am concerned, these two public officers have acted within the law. Even at their vetting, they’ve disclosed this; every information has been put out there. All of a sudden, it is turning out to be another unheard of situation,” he said.
Economist and Political Risk Analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong is urging government to review its target of reaching a 55% Debt-to-GDP ratio by 2028.
He views the target as too ambitious adding that it imposes undue pressure on government, forcing it to further burden some categories of bondholders.
Dr. Acheampong believes that if the 55% Debt-to-GDP target is further pushed to 2032, there will be enough room for negotiations.
Speaking on Citi FM/TV‘s news analysis programme, The Big Issue, Dr. Achempong said “if we want to exclude the individual bondholders from the whole exercise as well as the pension fund and others, we need to relook the 55% Debt-to-GDP ratio target for 2028. We need to go back to the drawing board even in terms of the whole fiscal arrangements and renegotiate with the IMF”.
“The 55% target can be pushed further to say 2032, this will allow for more negotiations. The terms of the programme are too onerous, it imposes an undue burden on different categories of bondholders, and will have a ripple effect of further slowing down the economy.”
In the government’s quest to address the country’s economic woes, the government launched the debt exchange programme to invite holders of bonds to voluntarily exchange approximately GH¢137 billion domestic notes and bonds of the Republic including ESLA and Daakye for a package of new bonds.
It is currently unclear how many institutions and individuals have signed onto the programme.
The domestic debt exchange program since its announcement has faced huge opposition from labour groups that managed to get pension funds exempted. Several groups made up of individual bondholders have also rejected the programme by the government.
The individuals have threatened to sue the government if not excluded insisting the programme will negatively impact them.
Meanwhile, the deadline for signing up has been further postponed to Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
The government’s compensation package, in the opinion of the landlords whose properties have been impacted by the Lake Road construction, is insufficient and cannot be compared to the price of a home in Ghana right now.
Because of this, the impacted landlords want the government to enhance the compensation.
“We want them to add more to the compensation because in this Ghana, inflation has gone up. The only thing we need government to help us [with] is that, they must increase the compensation or to set up a committee, to sit down and negotiate with us,” one said.
According to the landlords, the notice is also too short compared to the amount being paid them as compensation.
They therefore want the initial 10 percent being paid as compensation by the contractor to be increased to at least two-thirds of the amount of the compensation.
An affected landlord noted: “Even if they pay half or two thirds… So we’re pleading with government to intervene so that everything will go smoothly,” one of the affected landlords said.
“Because of the date, the money is too small, I didn’t collect it. Because the notice is too short, they expect me to move out right after taking the money, even when you’re renting a room and you’re given a notice of eviction, if you don’t find a place, you can still negotiate for more time, but why is it that they expect us to move out immediately so demolishing can take place? It does not work that way.”
A demolishing exercise has to be carried out in order to make way for the construction of the road, hence efforts to have the owners of the affected houses compensated to make way for the project.
A security analyst, Adam Bonaa has advised the government to take steps in addressing the concerns of the Small Scale Miners Association.
This comes on the back of the two weeks ultimatum given to the government by the Small Scale Miners Association to flush out illegal miners operating in the forest reserves in the country.
According to the miners, they will flash out the illegal miners from the forest if the government fails to do so after the ultimatum.
Commenting on the matter on Starr News, Mr. Bonaa indicated that the laws of the country justify the actions the Small Scale Miners want to take.
“I think we should take it very seriously. We should treat it as a country very seriously. But I think that they are within the law if they decide to flash out illegal small-scale miners and foreigners and by extension Chinese nationals who are depleting our forest cover and destroying our water bodies.
“The law mandates them if you look at section 12 of the criminal code, the 12.1(B) talks about a private person may arrest without a warrant a person who commits an offence in his presence. The D talks about an offence of injury to public property and water bodies, forest reserve all these names I have mentioned we will refer to as public property,” Mr. Bonaa stated.
He continued: “And so, I think the two weeks ultimatum they have given if the government or whoever is responsible for it refuses to act, I don’t think they will be breaching any law if they enter into these areas and arrest all these suspected foreign nationals or suspected illegal small-scale miners and hand them over to the police within a reasonable time. That is what the law says and they wouldn’t be breaching any law. The only thing is that the state should not wait for that to happen because the spillover we might not be able to deal with it.”
According to the security analyst, the state has been careless in dealing with illegal small-scale miners and the Chinese or foreign nationals who he alleged are destroying the water bodies and forest cover.
Mr. Bonaa, therefore, advised the State to act fast in dealing with the situation since the consequences and spill-over could be dire and may not be easily handled by the security agencies.
“So, as far as I am concerned the State should for once take up that mantle and ensure that they don’t look on while the private citizens decide to invoke section 12 of the criminal code. We shouldn’t sit and say go ahead and arrest these people because they are committing an offence that involves injury to public property. Like you referred to, most of these guys are armed, with sophisticated weapons like AK47s, some of them have pump action guns, side arms and the list is unending.
“I wouldn’t be able to tell what format the arrest is going to be. Are they concerned small-scale miners also going to be armed going there? Then you are likely to have an all-out war because then they are going to go in for probably a shootout. Probably, if that happens then the state is going to come back to its senses and perform its national duty by ensuring that our water bodies are not destroyed.”
The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Dame, had said that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has brought unparalleled improvement to the justice delivery system of Ghana.
According to him, not only has the government brought a much-needed improvement in the human capacity of his ministry and its agencies, but it has also equipped them with the tools to ensure effective justice delivery.
The minister, who made these remarks in a Good Evening Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb, went on to list some of the New Patriotic Party government’s achievements in his ministry.
Human Capacity:
Godfred said that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has boosted the human resource capacity of his ministry by recruiting about 200 attorneys since 2017.
“Last year, 70 attorneys were recruited, the year before 2021, another 70 were recruited. During Madame Gloria Akuffo’s time, another 60 or 70 were recruited… and this year I have applied for financial clearance to recruit about 50 or 60 more,” he said.
He added that the government has also been offering regular training to state attorneys both locally and internationally, with about 5 of them currently undergoing training abroad.
Infrastructure:
The attorney general also said the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government will soon complete the Law House, which has been under construction since 2003.
He stated that the Law House would be completed within a year and used as office space for the minister and its agencies.
“When I came, I ensured that there was an earnest construction of the project, and I am sure that in about six months or so the Law House will be done… from a state where it was 35 percent complete when I assumed office,” he said.
Equipment:
In the area of tools and equipment, he said that some of his agencies did not even have vehicles to run their operations, but between 2017 and 2023, the government procured a lot of vehicles for these agencies.
“My predecessor Madame Gloria Akuffo, believed there were 27 vehicles. Last year, in 2022, on account of the support of the minister of finance and the president’s decision at cabinet, I delivered 91 vehicles.
“The Law Reform Commission had only one vehicle, which was way back in 1997; Legal Aid had only about three or four vehicles… I doubled the stock of vehicles available to each agency and each regional office,” he said.
To instill trust in the failing economy, chartered economist Emmanuel Amoah Darkwah has resisted putting “sweeping reforms” into place.
He said despite several suggestions, the government had taken an entrenched position.
Ghana, he noted, was in debt distress, and the only out was for the government to roll out sweeping fiscal reforms to address our crisis.
He said it would be prudent for the government to initiate measures to save the country money, especially in these critical moments.
Mr. Amoah averred that the interest payments are rising to 52 billion, and that is not sustainable.
He said if care was not taken government workers would not be paid since the chunk of the revenue goes into paying interest.
He added that if the government wants the debt restructuring to succeed, then there should be some level of fiscal discipline on the part of the government.
Amoah Darkwah went on to say that the government should be reduced in size.
He stated that the government should not be hesitant to maintain fiscal discipline if the debt exchange programme is to be successful.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a private legal practitioner, has advanced reasons why individual bondholders must embrace the government’s debt restructuring offer.
According to him, the Ghanaian economy could crash if the bondholders do not quickly accept the offer as outlined by the Ministry of Finance.
Gabby, in a series of posts on social media, warned against the agitations surrounding the deal and encouraged the bondholders to play their role in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
“Ghana is in a very difficult place. What we are seeing with the mobilisation of agitation on individual bondholders poses a real and serious risk worse than what we witnessed when opposition to E-Levy succeeded in derailing an already shaky macroeconomic situation from 2021,” portions of his tweets read.
“The debt exchange programme is voluntary for individual bondholders but a very necessary evil for our economy.
“Its success is critical to restoring macroeconomic stability, securing an IMF prog. It hits those of us holding bonds very hard. A straight no to it is no solution!”, Mr Otchere-Darko stressed.
“If the no-compromise opposition to it wins, what then has been achieved? It may lead to national debt default.
“So what then happens to the value of your bonds after! Potentially worthless. If participation is low, we jeopardize resolving the economic crisis and hardships”, he wrote.
Gabby Otchere-Darko concluded his tweet storm by reminding Ghanaians that the country’s economy is not in a good shape and that certain uncomfortable measures ought to be taken to restore it.
“I’m sorry but we have to face the hard/painful truths. We ain’t sitting pretty. Our focus must be on how the burden to individual bondholders may be possibly eased; but not to take the hardline position of simply saying no to participation. It will come back to hit us harder!”.
This comes after two extensions of the expiration date by the Finance Ministry.
The decision to include individual bondholders was necessitated after government was forced by labour unions to abandon plans to include pensions in the debt exchange programme which was first announced in December 2022.
Private legal practitioner, Gabby Otchere-Darko, has indicated that the refusal by individual bondholders to accept government’s debt exchange programme will worsen the country’s economic crisis.
According to the NPP stalwart, the widespread rejection by the bondholders will not augur well for the country, hence the need for them to soften their stance.
In a series of tweets on Sunday evening, he explained that even though the terms of the debt exchange programme will affect individual bondholders, it is a necessary step which must be taken to salvage the economy.
He said if the bondholders fail to cooperate with government, their bonds may be affected in the future in addition to a further deterioration of the economy.
“Ghana is in a very difficult place. What we are seeing with the mobilisation of agitation on individual bondholders poses a real and serious risk worse than what we witnessed when opposition to E-Levy succeeded in derailing an already shaky macroeconomic situation from 2021”, portions of his tweets read.
“The debt exchange programme is voluntary for individual bondholders but a very necessary evil for our economy.
Its success is critical to restoring macroeconomic stability, securing an IMF prog. It hits those of us holding bonds very hard. A straight no to it is no solution!”, Mr Otchere-Darko stressed.
“If the no-compromise opposition to it wins, what then has been achieved? It may lead to national debt default.
So what then happens to the value of your bonds after! Potentially worthless. If participation is low, we jeopardize resolving the economic crisis and hardships”, he wrote.
In concluding his comments on the matter, he said, “I’m sorry but we have to face the hard/painful truths. We ain’t sitting pretty.
Our focus must be on how the burden to individual bondholders may be possibly eased; but not to take the hardline position of simply saying no to particpation. It will come back to hit us harder!”.
While noting the possible dangers if the programme does not go through, he called on individual bondholders to rally behind government to help restore the economy.
The remarks by the founder of the Danquah Institute comes in the wake of growing public agitations from individual bondholders about government’s proposed domestic debt exchange programme.
In a bid to rescue the economy and secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), government has proposed that all bondholders will not receive any interests on their bonds for the 2023 financial year.
The payment of dividends, according to government is likley to begin next year, 2024 at a discounted rate of 5%.
In relation to this, bondholders who may want to transfer or even forfeit their bonds will not even be able to get the full principal they initially invested as bonds.
This proposal, since its announcement has been rejected by many bondholders who have subsequently expressed frustration about the development.
In their view, if the proposal is implemented, they will suffer a great deal of loss, with many of them stating that their investments may even become unprofitable.
Some of the aggrieved bondholders, who recently interacted with JoyNews have thrown their hands in despair, with others contemplating suicide.
The affected investors say with government’s intended management of their bonds, they may not even be able to meet their expenses such as rent, feeding and the payment of fees for their wards.
They have therefore called on government and other relevant stakeholders to intervene in the matter.
In this regard, policy analyst, Senyo Hosi, who is part of the crusade is currently mobilising all affected bondholders to collectively resist the move by government.
Speaking on JoyNews‘ PM Express last week, he stated that the proposal by government is ‘insensitive’ and must be outrightly resisted.
Meanwhile, government insists the debt exchange programme is the way to go in rescuing the economy.
As part of the government’s efforts to develop an integrated automotive value industry, the Trade Ministry has inaugurated the Ghana Automotive Industry Development Council.
The Council is made up of representatives of relevant stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.
The function of the Council will be to make recommendations to the government on the implementation of the Ghana Automotive Development Programme, including but not limited to the Incentive and Regulatory Framework, Access to Industrial Infrastructure, Vehicle Financing, Training, Technology Upgrading, Supplier Development, and Standards and Safety.
The drafting of the Ghana Automotive Component Manufacturing Policy will also provide incentives and a regulatory regime to attract component manufacturers into Ghana’s Automotive Industry whilst taking advantage of the existing resource.
The Ghana Automotive Industry Development Council will among others, develop an effective economic consultation structure to effectively address any issues related to Automotive Assembly activities and to provide input into any policy review exercise.
With the operationalisation of the Council, the Ghana Automotive Development Centre has also been established to serve as an Office Complex to among others host the Secretariat of the Council and provide offices for Policy Support, Vehicle Financing, Investment and Customs Facilitation, Training and Skills Development, Vehicle Testing and Certification as well as a showroom for exhibiting locally assembled vehicles.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen at the inauguration of the council appealed to all players in the industry to continue to work together to promote the development and competitiveness of the players in the auto industry in Ghana and position companies to take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ghanaian economist, Kwame Pianim is currently trending on Twitter following his comment on Ghana’s economy.
Kwame Pianim in an interview with TV3 said government is sitting on a timebomb if it goes ahead to implement the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.
He further said that Ken Ofori-Atta’s irresponsibility and recklessness has led the country into a ditch, which has resulted in the need for the country to undertake a debt restructuring exercise for an IMF bailout.
“…I would have been proud as a Ghanaian to contribute to the debt restructuring exercise but I will not contribute one pesewa for Ken Ofori-Atta leading this, he led us into the gutter…” he stressed.
Following his comment, he has topped Twitter trends with many social media users reacting to his statement.
“AIR -Arrogance, Incompetence and Recklessness. Renowned economist Dr. Kwame Pianim. Who is he referring to?” Nelson Bonkena quizzed.
“We have men like Kwame Pianim in this country but we no dey mind them…” Mr_Kormy Tweeted
Below are some of the tweets
Kwame Pianim dropping common sense but it look like gems! NPP is so arrogantly ignorant and dvmb esp their supposed economic team and Ghanaians are so docile and stvpid allowing these to go on unstopped! And funny enough #BawumiaNeverLies is trending at 1 pic.twitter.com/uv7nnpCG2t— JESUS Is King ????✨ (@GhanaSocialU) January 12, 2023
Ken Ofori Atta is behaving like a child who killed both parents and when he was charged for murder, pleaded he should be pardoned because he is an orphan.
~Kwame Pianim
— Suadique Musah???? (@Suadiquemusa) January 12, 2023
i can sit and listen to kwame pianim for a whole day.
pure wisdom !
— Rahman™???????? (@rahmann_23) January 12, 2023
If we have people like Kwame Pianim in this country and still leaders in this country does not seek advice from him hmmmm….what an intelligent man ,God bless him and may he live long..@kwamepianim#Tv3newday #JohnniesBite— Pocket_Money (@jacobAmarquaye1) January 12, 2023
Legal Practitioner, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has asked government to gather mettle and acknowledge the blame of the current emergency the Ghanaian economy is confronting instead of fault the worldwide emergency.
According to him, the current government’s incompetence is why the country has colossal debt despite having more revenue sources than any other government since 1957.
Speaking on TV3’s big issues, he said this government should man up and take responsibility for the failure of the economy instead of engaging in blame game.
“What is our total debt today? Do you know by their reason of incompetent management of the exchange rate, they added 98 billion Ghana cedis to our public debt? So please stop globalizing your incompetence, face the fact, man up and say that look I have been irresponsible for the debt situation and that is why we are here.”
Edudzi Tamaklo said there is much expectation from this government because of the excess revenue they have made in the last 6 years in government.
“Do you know that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government have gotten more revenue than all administration since 1957? In fact, by the time NDC left office, the overall financial revenue sources available to the NDC in 8 years was 248 billion Ghana cedis, as I speak to you within the space of 6 years this government, if you put loans, grants, and tax revenue together, this government has gotten in excess of 560 billion just in six years. The bible says to whom much is given much is expected. In the midst of plenty, you have run us aground, what to do is to demonstrate humility,” he said in the interview.
Oxfam, the bloc of global organizations fighting against poverty has ranked Ghana’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2015 as one of the most open processes globally.
In a report authored by Oxfam, the openness was grounded in how the then-government approached the fund leveraging on consultations with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
IMANI Africa’s Bright Simons shared an extract from the report on Twitter with the caption: “Oxfam says Ghana’s IMF engagement in 2015 was one of the most open in the world, with strong engagement by CSOs pushing a public interest agenda.”
He added that as an actor in the CSO sector, he agreed with Oxfam: “I also find that the current IMF process is the opposite: with zero govt interest in openness & engagement.”
Mahama government goes to IMF
In 2015, Ghana’s economy was in trouble, hobbled by widening current account and budget deficits, rampant inflation, and a depreciating currency. Credit dried up as interest rates rose and banks’ bad loans piled up.
At the root of Ghana’s woes was out-of-control government spending, largely to pay salaries of an overgrown civil service.
The program
In early 2015, Ghana turned to the IMF for a $918 million loan to help stabilize the economy. IMF advisors, working with the Ghanaian government, developed a three-part program:
Extract from IMF report: Box 2: Ghana
Of all the case studies, Ghana represented the most successful example of meaningful engagement between CSOs and the IMF. This success was due to several factors which collectively amplified the power of Ghanaian civil society with respect to the IMF.
These included: the formation of a joint coalition of over 11 CSOs in 2014, known as the Civil Society Platform on the IMF Programme – now the Economic Governance Platform (EGP); structured preparation and capacity building among the coalition prior to and during IMF engagement; the support of Global North actors such as Oxfam in accessing IMF decision makers and political stakeholders at headquarters level; detailed research and published analysis of the issues up for discussion;*# and public-facing awareness and advocacy campaigns which included experts and stakeholders from different sectors.
These combined factors meant the coalition’s goals and concerns could not be ignored.
The Civil Society Platform on the IMF Programme [the Platform’) was principally responsible for ensuring the success of civil society negotiations with the IMF.
John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen announced his intention to run for the position of New Patriotic Party flagbearer on January 10, 2022, six days after announcing his resignation as minister of trade and industry.
In a national broadcast shared across various media platforms, the multiple-times NPP flagbearer contestant also outlined some of his ideals while appealing to delegates of the party to elect him as their choice when the time comes.
Despite lauding the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for laying a strong foundation on which he intends to build his future government, Mr Kyerematen also made certain pronouncements that appear as subtle attacks directed at the government in which he served.
I believe there are things that could have been done differently
While highlighting his relationship with President Akufo-Addo and praising his government, Mr Kyerematen was quick to point out in his speech that certain things under the current administration could have been done using different approaches.
“The President has laid a strong foundation for the socioeconomic development of our country, although I believe there are things that could have been done differently. My vision is to build a superstructure on this foundation that will bring prosperity to our nation,” he stated.
We promised never to go back but we have gone back to IMF
For the government of President Akufo-Addo, one of the things that has brought heavy criticism upon the president and his “men” is the decision to seek financial support from the International Monetary Fund.
Despite kicking against calls to seek a bailout from the Fund amidst severe economic challenges, the government in a dramatic turn of events is currently seeking a $3 billion loan facility from the IMF.
According to Mr Kyerematen, although government made earlier promises to refrain from going to the IMF for help, they ultimately resorted to that because of challenges somewhat beyond their control.
“This is the seventeenth time that we have gone to the IMF over the last 57 years. We promised never to go back but we have gone back.One of the lessons that we have learnt from the recent developments is that Ghana’s economy is still fragile, vulnerable and susceptible to both external and domestic shocks.
Words without actions
Mr Kyerematen while seeking to highlight his campaign policy dubbed Great Transformational Plan (GTP), outlined what he said are seven critical issues that needs consideration.
According to the flagbearer hopeful, it has become imperative for the country to be action-oriented towards achieving results instead of engaging in talks.
Describing Ghana’s current state as “No Action Talk Only (NATO)” the former minister emphasised the need for the trend to be reversed.
“Ghana is gradually becoming a NATO country – “No Action Talk Only”. We need to remember that the use of time is a zero-sum game. What Ghana needs now are solutions and actions not debates,” he noted.
Cutting the size of government
Before the onset of Ghana’s current economic challenges, President Akufo-Addo was cited by his critics as leading an overly sized government causing strain on public resources.
The recent economic challenges of the country have deepened the accusation against the government and the need for the president to cut down on his numbers.
Without explicitly agreeing with the critics of his former appointing authority, Mr Kyerematen in his address noted the need for the size of the government to be trimmed while promising to do so if he wins power.
“The architecture of Government will be overhauled by consolidating some existing Ministries, Departments and Agencies. This will mean running a lean Government structure that will ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of Government services,” he stated.
A diplomatically neutral state
President Akufo-Addo was recently called out by some critics for alleging that the Russian paid mercenaries were operating a mine along Burkina Faso’s border with Ghana.
The president who noted the situation as a concern to the US Secretary of State during a US-Africa Leaders Summit said the government of Burkina Faso had given out the mine to the Wagner Group as payment for work done.
Prior to the statement by the president which was deemed by many as potential grounds for a diplomatic row with Russia, the government had also been criticised for condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking in his national address on Tuesday, Mr Kyerematen noted that a government of Ghana under his leadership will be neutral on matters of the international community.
“Ghana’s diplomatic and economic relations with the International Community under the GTP will be predicated on the principle of ‘positive neutrality’, based on the strategic interests of Ghana, as well as our shared commitments for the preservation of peace around the world and respect for humanity,” he stated.
A broken economy?
Before concluding his address, the flagbearer hopeful signed off with a number of proverbs to inspire hope and belief in his course.
“Akyea na emmui” he alluded to a popular Akan saying which translates to “It is bent but not broken.”
For those concerned about the current state of Ghana’s economy fraught with high cost of living and hardship, this was a way by the flagbearer hopeful to elicit hope amidst the challenges.
Government will raise ¢1.13 billion this week to refinance upcoming Treasury bill maturities of ¢1.04 billion.
This will be higher than the ¢1.49 billion secured the previous week.
The government accepted ¢1.68 billion last week in the treasury auction out of total bids worth ¢1.72 billion.
The uptake exceeded the target after the under-subscription in the previous auction.
The 91-day yield closed slightly higher at 35.66%, while the 182-day yield retreated to 35.95%.
Meanwhile, analysts perceive that the implementation of the domestic debt exchange programme may delay due to a looming class action lawsuit.
The government presented amended terms for the programme on December, 24, 2022. The amended terms included an invitation of individual bondholders to participate in the domestic debt exchange and an extension of the deadline for participating in the programme.
However, some individual investors are seeking to file a class action lawsuit against the government over their inclusion in the programme.
This development may protract the successful implementation of the domestic debt exchange, which is critical for obtaining timely board-level approval from the International Monetary Fund.
A Security analyst, Dr Adam Bonaa has said he never imagined that someone could fly a drone across the seat of government, the Jubilee House.
He explained that the Jubilee House is supposed to be a security zone because that is where the First and Second Gentlemen of the country operate from.
Any drone that is flown across the place is short down by the security and the owners arrested for prosecution, he added.
This happens in almost every jurisdiction where drones are flown across the seats of government.
Dr Bonaa was commenting on the controversial music video shot by American rapper Meek Mill.
He told TV3 that “As a country, we are capable of allowing or doing a lot of things but I never expected that we will get to a point that a diasporan entertainer will walk into and literally fly drones across Jubilee House.
“Jubilee House is supposed to be one of the areas that aircraft, at a certain height, cannot go, you will want to define it as a no flight zone.
“To that extent, if you as a media person, you dared to fly a drone or something for news purposes into the area, chances are that they will shoot it down and whoever it belongs to will be prosecuted. This is not limited to only Ghana, it is everywhere because that is the seat of government, that is the seat of the executive where you have the first and second gentlemen of the land.”
Following public uproar, Meek Mill apologized for the controversial music video and has since deleted it.
In a tweet, Meek Mill said, “my apologies to the people if any disrespected. We still gonna push to make the connection between black people in America and Africa.. What I’m trying to do is more than a video and you should see coming soon. My apologies to the office [of the President] also”.
Meek Mill visited Ghana and performed at the AfroNation concert on Thursday, December 29, 2022.
According to JoyNews sources, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the minister of food and agriculture, may submit his resignation today.
This comes four days after Trade Minister, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, resigned from the government.
It is not clear yet the rationale behind Dr Akoto’s expected move.
Presidential Affairs correspondent, Elton Brobbey, says the Minister is expected to meet President Akufo-Addo later this afternoon to formally communicate his intention.
“We are told that there has been verbal communication regarding this matter so it is not a surprise to President Akufo-Addo. But what we are picking up is that at 2 pm when he meets the President, he will formally announce his resignation,” he said on Tuesday.
Dr Afriyie Akoto has been tipped as one of the personalities eyeing the flagbrearership position of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the 2024 elections.
Critics say this may be a tactic to allow him to concentrate on the leadership ambition of his party.
A tweet from Kwaku Sintim-Misa on January 7, 2023, described Ghana as a country that has been “reduced to a circus in a zoo”.
KSM, as the veteran standup comedian is affectionately called, had subtly taunted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for boasting of the availability of ‘the men’ in the party and their ability to manage the economy better than the NDC while in opposition.
“We in the NPP have the men and the women that will give Ghanaians a decent standard of living,” Akufo-Addo’s tweet in 2015 read.
Having observed that the Akufo-Addo-led administration has failed woefully, KSM has not hidden his assessment of the party. Through his social media accounts, he has consistently criticized the NPP for mismanaging the economy and worsening the cost of living.
In his tweet that said Ghana has been reduced to ‘a circus in a zoo’, KSM made a mockery of the ‘we have the men’ mantra.
He said: “Asem o. I thought “You had the MEN” apparently you just have “THE MAN”.
Ghana had a torrid 2022 amid an economic crisis that forced the government to seek an International Monetary Fund facility at a time the cedi was rapidly depreciating, inflation was galloping and the government was faced with multiple downgrades by rating agencies.
The government has serially blamed the crisis partly on the aftershocks of the COVID pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
It has promised to turn around the economic fortunes of the country after sealing a Staff-Level agreement with the IMF with the hope that funds from the US$3 billion facility will be released early this year.
We in the NPP have the men and the women that will give Ghanaians a decent standard of living. #RiseAndBuildTour— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) September 4, 2015
Asem o. I thought “You had the MEN” apparently you just have “THE MAN”. GH now reduced to “A CIRCUS IN A ZOO” ????— Kwaku Sintim-Misa (@KSM_Kwaku_Misa) January 7, 2023
In an effort to help safeguard the island from global economic shocks, the government has plans to reinvest an additional T$380 billion ($12.4 billion) in tax receipts from the previous year.
Premier Su Tseng-chang has announced that the Taiwan government is planning to give cash payouts of nearly $200 to every citizen this year.
He said the island’s economic growth will be shared by everyone.
Reuters reports that the export-reliant economy, a global tech powerhouse for products including semiconductor chips, grew 6.45 percent in 2021, the fastest rate since it expanded 10.25 percent in 2010.
The government has made plans to plough an extra T$380 billion ($12.4bn) in tax revenue from last year back into the economy to help protect the island from global economic shocks, including subsidies for electricity prices and labour and health insurance, while economic growth is expected to slow in 2023.
“The fruit of economic achievements will be shared by all citizens, from young to old,” Su told reporters on Wednesday, adding the potential payout requires approval from parliament, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party has a majority.
“We wish to give all citizens a New Year blessing after the beginning of the Lunar New Year,” Su told reporters, referring to the week-long holiday that starts on January 20.
Taiwan is said to be a major producer of semiconductors used in everything from cars and smartphones to fighter jets. Its economy continued to grow stably during the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years helped by strong chip demand for consumer electronics as more people worked from home.
Taiwan’s central bank in December cut its 2022 estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 2.91 percent from its previous forecast of 3.51 percent in September.
For 2023, it projected GDP would grow by 2.53 percent. The economy grew 4.01 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier
Addressing the country’s debt burden, government on Monday, December 5, 2022 launched the Domestic Debt Exchange programme aimed at restructuring the country’s domestic debt to ensure sustainability. This programme is particularly relevant in the context of Ghana’s current economic challenges, including elevated inflation and interest rates, as well as a weakening cedi and recent multiple credit rating downgrades on the back of a deteriorating economic situation.
This programme, as indicated by government, is meant to alleviate the debt burden in a most transparent, efficient and expedited manner, which would minimise impacts from the domestic debt exchange policy on investors holding government bonds.
Overall, government’s policy for investors in this domestic debt exchange programme appears to be focused on minimising the impact on individual bondholders and assuring them that their investments will not be affected. Government states that it will not implement a principal haircut on eligible bonds, and that Treasury bills will be completely exempted from the exchange programme. Individual bondholders will not be affected, and will be able to exchange their existing bonds for new ones with longer maturities and stepped-up interest rates.
Government also emphasises that this domestic debt exchange programme is part of a broader agenda to restore debt and financial sustainability, and that it is working toward a restructuring of its external indebtedness. It is also seeking support from the International Monetary Fund.
Leading Indicators
Inflation in Ghana has been on the rise in recent months, reaching an annual rate of 50.3% in November 2022. This has put pressure on the country’s central bank to raise interest rates to curb inflation. The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) concluded its last MPC meetings of the year in November 2022 by raising the benchmark interest rate another 250bps to 27.0% – continuing its fight against surging inflation and re-anchoring inflation expectations. This brings full-year rate increases to a historic 1,250bps (12.50%) in 2022.
A higher benchmark rate is targetted at reducing demand for goods and services, thus slowing the rate of inflation. However, this can also have negative consequences for the financial market as higher interest rates can make it more difficult for businesses to access credit, which could in turn slow economic growth and job creation.
Headline inflation is expected to peak in Q1-2023 and settle around 25% at end of Q3-2023 in their baseline scenario. However, implementation of the 2.5% increment in VAT and the pass-through effects of exchange rate losses remain significant risks.
The cedi, Ghana’s currency, has also been struggling in recent months – depreciating against the dollar and other major currencies. The cedi lost 0.73 against the greenback on the BoG’s interbank market in Nov 2022. Cumulatively, the local currency has depreciated by some 52% this year, rendering imported goods more expensive and reducing the purchasing power of businesses. This has also made it more difficult for government to repay its foreign debt, as it must use more cedis to buy the same amount of dollars or other foreign currencies.
Per 2023 budget, the Public Debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 75.9 percent at the end of September 2022; largely reflecting the impact of currency depreciation. The external debt as a percentage of total debt stock was 58.1 percent as at end of September 2022, up from the 48.4 percent recorded in 2021. The sharp growth in external debt stock was largely on account of the local currency’s sharp depreciation. The Ghana cedi’s depreciation added GH¢93.86billion to the external debt stock compared to the transaction effect of GH¢7.55billion.
Overall, the rate of debt accumulation increased from 20.7 percent at end-December 2021 to 32.7 percent for end-September 2022; reflecting the impact from depreciation of the Ghana cedi on external debt.
Impact on the financial market
Against this backdrop, the Domestic Debt Exchange programme can be seen as a potentially positive development for the financial market in Ghana. By swapping high-interest domestic bonds with lower-interest ones, the programme can save government millions of dollars in interest payments, which could be used to help boost the economy and address other challenges such as inflation and the depreciating cedi.
However, the DDE programme could also have negative consequences for the financial market which might be complex and very much uncertain. While it has potential to improve the country’s fiscal health and reduce the debt burden, it could also lead to increased volatility in the market.
The proposed interest rate being offered in this domestic debt exchange programme is 10% per year, with a stepped-up schedule starting at 0% in 2023, 5% in 2024 and 10% from 2025 until maturity. This proposed interest rate may have a number of impacts on investors.
Instructively, one potential impact of the DDE programme is on attractiveness of the new bonds compared to existing ones. Given that the current interest rate on existing bonds hovers around 38.82% for the 2-yr note and 48.71 % for the 20-yr bond, the proposed interest rate of 10% per year may be seen as less attractive to investors.
The debt restructuring programme’s details further dampened investor-sentiment and sent investors into a quandary, as there could be a potential loss on their investment in the long-term. Signals from the secondary market as of Friday, December 9, 2022 showed selling interest remained elevated while buying interest was elusive. Trading activities hovered around the medium- to long-term papers. At the far end of the curve, Jul-2033 (Coupon of 11.65%) was actively traded and settled at 40.50%, while Nov-2026 (Coupon of 19.00%) at the belly of the curve cleared at 39.03%.
The market very much expects yields to continue their upward trajectory as participants offload their holdings to reduce exposure amid elevated risk due to the proposed debt exchange programme.
In the context of Ghana’s current economic challenges – including elevated inflation, a depreciating cedi and interest rate increases – it will be important to closely monitor effects of the DDE programme and make any necessary adjustments to ensure its success.
It is worth noting that the exchange programme is not the only measure being taken by the government of Ghana to address the country’s economic challenges. For example, government has also implemented measures to increase revenue and reduce spending, such as increasing taxes and cutting subsidies.
Additionally, government has been working with international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain financial assistance and support as the staff level agreement (SLA) has been achieved in record time, marking a significant milestone in Ghana’s quest for policy support for its post-COVID-19 economic recovery efforts.
Disputes over the proposed DDE programme
Despite any possible success the domestic debt exchange programme could make, it has faced opposition from some groups within the financial sector and the public at large. These groups have argued that the programme is not sustainable in the long-term, and that it exposes investors to significant risks.
One of the main concerns raised by opponents of the programme is lower interest rates on the new instruments being offered as part of the exchange. These lower rates may not be sufficient to compensate investors for the risks associated with holding Ghanaian debt, and may make the new instruments less attractive to investors. This could limit the programme’s overall success, and hence make it more difficult for government to attract investors’ participation.
Another concern raised by opponents of the programme is its potential impact on the country’s credit rating. The programme will successfully reduce the overall cost of Ghana’s domestic debt, but has led to further a downgrade of the country’s credit rating since it was first announced. This could make it more difficult and expensive for government to borrow in the future, and could have negative consequences for the country’s economy.
Despite these concerns, government remains committed to the domestic debt exchange programme and continues to believe it is a necessary and effective tool for addressing the country’s economic challenges. The programme has been adjudged appropriate for reducing overall cost of the country’s domestic debt, and improving investor confidence and liquidity in the domestic debt market.
This, when fully completed, will afford government some fiscal space to operate – as it envisages reducing, particularly, the domestic interest cost in 2023; which is estimated at GH¢31.29billion out of the total GH¢52.55billion.
These could lay the foundation for a more sustainable financial market in Ghana, and also contribute to overall stability of the country’s economy.
Addressing the Investors’ Concerns
Government can take steps to address concerns about the programme’s potential impact on the country’s credit rating. These could include implementing policies that improve overall sustainability of the country’s debt and reduce the risks associated with holding Ghanaian debt. By taking such steps, government could help convince the financial sector that the domestic debt exchange programme is a worthwhile investment and can help attract more investors.
Overall, Ghana’s government will need to take a proactive approach to address the concerns raised by opponents of the domestic debt exchange programme. By implementing policies that increase the attractiveness of new instruments being offered as part of the exchange, and which provide investors with greater confidence in the programme’s long-term sustainability, government can convince the financial sector to join the programme and support the country’s economic growth and development.
What’s next?
In conclusion, the Domestic Debt Exchange programme is a significant initiative that has potential to improve the country’s fiscal health and reduce its debt burden. The proposed interest rate may have an impact on the overall level of interest rates in the economy. If government is successful in attracting a large number of investors to participate in the exchange programme and the new bonds are widely held, this could lead to an increase in overall supply of government bonds in the market.
This, in turn, could put downward pressure on interest rates more broadly, as the increased supply of bonds may lead to a decline in their prices and a corresponding increase in their yields. On the other hand, if government is unable to attract sufficient investor interest in the new bonds, this could lead to a decline in the supply of government bonds – which could put upward pressure on interest rates.
However, it is important to carefully monitor its implementation and effects and take any necessary steps to ensure its success. By working together, government, the financial market and other stakeholders can help to support the stability and growth of Ghana’s economy.
It is also worth noting that success for the DDE programme will not depend only on the actions of government and the financial market. The broader economic environment will also play a role in determining the programme’s success. For example, factors such as global economic conditions and commodity prices could impact Ghana’s economy, and in turn effectiveness of the DDE programme.
Furthermore, the DDE programme’s success will also depend on the willingness and ability of Ghanaians to support and participate in it. For example, individual investors and institutions holding domestic bonds will need to willingly exchange their bonds for new ones with different terms for the programme to achieve its goals.
To support the DDE programme’s success, it will be important for government to communicate clearly and transparently with the public about the programme and its benefits. By providing clear and accurate information, government can help build trust and support among the public – which will be essential for the programme’s success.
The leader of the minority caucus of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has said that the House failed Ghanaians in 2022.
He explained that the house failed Ghanaians because it did not check the unbridled borrowing of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
Haruna Iddrisu, who said this in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the huge debt accumulated by the government is the cause of the economic challenges in the country now.
“Where the country is today, you will hear everybody talking about unsustainable debt. It means we overborrowed. We borrowed excessively.
“Parliament, under Article 181 of the Constitution, exercises that mandate (to check the executive) for and on behalf of the people of Ghana. So, it simply means that Parliament has failed the people of Ghana. We didn’t hold the executive to check to say that don’t borrow any longer or borrow at this limit.
“We all know that when debt exceeds 70 percent of GDP you are debt distressed. So now Ghana is a debt-distressed high-risk country,” he said.
Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, however, indicated that the minority caucus cannot be blamed for failing to hold the executive in check.
“There are those who have been very critical of the minority including me, saying that why did we pass the budget. It was because we don’t want the country to come to a standstill. A budget means a lot not just for government or the New Patriotic Party (NPP) but for citizens,” he added.
A former secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Tain constituency, Adama Coulibaly, has described Ghanaians as ungrateful.
He said Ghanaians are ungrateful because they have failed to commend the government following the appreciation of the cedi against the dollar, and reduction of fuel prices, among other things.
He claimed that Ghanaians slammed President Akufo-Addo when the cedi fell against the dollar and food prices skyrocketed.
They have, however, refused to commend the President after things have stabilized. Ghanaians must come out in support of the President. Those who attacked him on social media should go back and commend him for what he is doing,” he added.
He believed that while Ghanaians had various opinions about the government when things were bad, they should also praise it when efforts were made to alleviate the problems.
According to him, he was taken aback by Ghanaians’ silence now that things are improving in the country, but when things were worse, people were insulting the government.
The Chief Operations Officer at Dalex Finance, Mr. Joe Jackson, has reiterated calls to the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to cut down the size of his government instead of a planned reshuffle.
Mr. Jackson made the call through his Twitter handle.
“Dear HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, we need a reduction, not a reshuffle! Please cut the size of government significantly.#BrokeGhana#HardDecisions #FiscalDiscipline,” he tweeted.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, according to the Chief Operations Officer at Dalex Finance, must immediately reduce the number of appointees serving in his government.
In the view of Mr. Jackson, the country can no longer afford to pay for the number of appointees; hence, the government must be downsized.
The Chief Operations Officer at Dalex Finance’s call is in reaction to reports in a section of the media that President Akufo-Addo will be reshuffling his ministers.
He claims that the action is being taken to help those people affected by the debt swap scheme by using development partners, such as the World Bank, as leverage.
He also said that other nations had done the same thing in the past during hard financial circumstances.
The US he noted made a profit of US$3 trillion when it sold the ‘bad’ bonds after the crisis.
“This is what happened during the global financial crisis where governments stepped in. We can prevail on the development partners – the World Bank and others who have had experience in this to set up a fund to pay those who are really in need or set up a ‘bad bank’ and when the time is good you can buy back the bonds,” he is quoted by myjoyonline.com.
“Look, the US Treasury – Federal Reserve when it bought the bad debt from the banks, it offloaded those bonds when the condition improved and made 3 trillion US$ profit which was given to the treasurer and the US put the funds aside,” he added.
“The solution may be fiscal or monetary. There are financial institutions, especially those we called primary dealers, those who buy the most government bonds – the ones who can even come in and stand in for the government when the auction is failing. They may be more liquid, so we may want to prevail on them to set up funds.
“If somebody wants to offload out of hardship, we can determine the criteria for those who have to pay children’s school fees and whatever we invested in the bonds for various reasons. They [bondholders] can go to these institutions, offload their bonds for a discount, and when the conditions improve, they can sell at a higher rate,” he said.
Prof Godfred Bokpin, an Economist and Finance Lecturer at the University of Ghana, has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency reduce the size of his government.
According to him, if the president thinks he will not be able to manage Ghana’s economy with at most 40 ministers of state, he should step down.
He added that some ministers and their ministries have become idle and should be merged to other ministries, myjoyonline.com reports.
“As a matter of urgency, a reduction in the size of ministers… if our President cannot govern with less than 40 ministers and the other reforms, he should resign and give Ghana a chance.
“.. with the number of ministers and associated calls, State Owned Enterprises, new agencies being created, some of them are actually not doing anything but their lifestyles are loaded on the public purse,” Prof Bokpin is quoted to have said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday.
The Economist added that the president must also temporarily suspend some emoluments given to political office holders including ex-gratia.
He reiterated that if President Akufo-Addo wants Ghanaians to sacrifice to help the country get out of the current economic situation he must lead by example by cutting the government’s expenditure drastically.
Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante, has warned that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s only legacy will be the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme if he fails to reshuffle his government.
Speaking in a Peace FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, December 26, 2022, Dr Asante said that calls for the president to sack his non-performing minister of state are long overdue.
He added that the insistence of the president on maintaining his appointees will certainly have an impact on the electoral fortunes of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“There is something called political cost. If your mother is dead but you keep saying she is alive, let her resurrect for us to see. The president has been saying that his ministers are performing well but you and I know that, that is far from the truth.
“Because if they were performing well, we will not be in the current situation we find ourselves in… He should close his eyes and sack his ministers who are not performing well and bring in people who can do the job.
“He should put his feet on the ground and sack his ministers who have failed so that he will leave a legacy. So that in the future if the Free SHS is mentioned other achievements will be added to honour his name,” he said in the Twi dialect.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufo-Addo, has urged Ghanaians in privileged circumstances to give back to the less fortunate individuals in society during this holiday season.
He further urged Ghanaians to offer some comfort to people who are in distress to avert any untoward circumstances in their lives.
The President believes the gesture will put some smiles on the faces of the poor and the needy.
“I urge all of us, to celebrate the season safely and responsibly, if you are in a more fortunate position, remember to lend a helping hand to those who are in need, let each one of us do our bit to help feed those who are hungry and offer comfort to those who are in distress,” the President said this his Christmas message to Ghanaians.
He expressed hope that Ghana will rise up again as his government works around the clock to prudently manage the economy.
“I am happy that in spite of it all, we are beginning to emerge out of the difficulties which encourages me to say that with hard work, dedication and continued prudence in the management of the affairs of our nation, we will rise up again,” the President added.
Senior Vice president of Imani Africa, Bight Simmons, asserted that the Ghanaian government spent $6 million on a consultant for the National Cathedral project.
According to him, it is unclear what has been done by this consultant, who he names as Cary Summers, to merit the amount of money as payment.
Sharing this in a tweet, Bright Simmons said this is a mystery.
“As the year draws to a close, one of the mysteries that remain unexplained is what Mr. Cary Summers did to earn ~$6 million as a consultant to Ghana’s ‘National Cathedral,” he wrote.
The Imani Vice President also questioned why the government of Ghana owes the Nehemiah Group, which has been involved in the creation, construction, and/or operations of numerous global projects over the last twenty years, one of which is Ghana’s National Cathedral.
“Why does Ghana still owe his Nehemiah Group? Maybe without the GHC80m to share in 2023, answers will come,” he added.
So far, there have been questions and doubts as to the progress of work on the $400 million project.
Details available on wikipedia.com say that by the end of 2022, the government of Ghana had spent over $58 million on the project, with about half of it going to architect David Adjaye’s firm, Adjacent & Associates.
Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu I has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to halt work on the National Cathedral.
Dormaahene, who is the President of the Bono Regional House of Chief, said that the Cathedral project cannot be a priority of the government, given the difficulties Ghanaians are facing.
Osagyefo Agyemang Badu I, while addressing the media, added that the project can continue once the country is out of the woods and Akufo-Addo should not be the one who has to necessarily complete it.
“One of the things Ghanaians are asking me to talk to the president about is the National Cathedral. He (Akufo-Addo) swore to God to build a National Cathedral when he becomes president which is a good thing.
“However, given the economic difficulties Ghanaians are facing around this time, the people have asked me to tell you (Akufo-Addo) to put the project on hold. It is your initiative, no one can take it away from you but don’t use the national coffers to build a cathedral.
“.. tell him to focus on economic recovery so that in good time even if he is not able to complete it, any of these brothers (successors) could do so. That is what Ghanaians want me to tell you,” he said in Twi.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s Trades and Industry Committee has suspended the approval process for an amount of GH¢80 million allocated for the construction of the National Cathedral.
Tamale Central Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, who disclosed the development to Accra-based JoyNews on December 13, said the suspension will be in place till justification for the allocation is made.
“What the Committee decided was that we cannot just approve this GH¢80 million, we must know how the other GH¢339 million was spent. What did it constitute?
“The GH¢80 million you want us to approve, how did it find space in the budget line of the Ministry of Tourism when the Minister and the directors could not speak to the questions we were asking? What constitutes the GH¢80 million, they should give us a breakdown,” he stressed.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, has guaranteed private plantation owners that the government and his ministry will always support and fully back their business as long as it advances the government’s goal of finding answers to the climate change.
Mr. Jinapor gave this assurance when he joined the plantation developers during a sensitisation forum organised for the private developers by the Ghana Forest Investment Programme, (GFIP) under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
The awareness creation on the plantation loan scheme programme is on the sidelines of the sector minister’s one-day tour of the Ashanti Region on Tuesday, December 20, 2022.
He noted that government has absolute trust in the private sector even as it is giving out loans from its Forest Investment Project to engage in plantation enterprises because, he said, “we believe in the private sector as anything you do in human endeavour, whether medicine, commerce, agriculture, plantations, or anything, when you have the private sector at the fulcrum or the pivot around which your enterprise revolves, you can rest assured that you will be successful.”
The sector minister said that the Ministry’s presence at their meeting to create awareness of the plantation loan scheme is a testimony of the government’s commitment to their endeavour, adding that this support to the private sector to establish commercial forest plantation will yield a common goal which is the provision of industrial timber, restoration of the degraded landscape, job creation for the youth and provision of ecological services which he is especially happy about.
He indicated that this financing is also a vehicle for Government to realise its vision to protect the remaining forests, increase its forest estate, improve the lives of community members working in the rural landscape and pilot the viability of contracting commercial loans for plantation development.
He encouraged the private developers saying that the work they are involved in, although difficult, is a very important one and with a government that believes in the private sector, he urged them to get actively involved and make it work for the common good.
Stating the objective of the loan scheme to private sector plantation developers, Benito Owusu-Bio, the Deputy Minister responsible for Lands and Forestry, disclosed that in line with the achievements, the Ghana Forest Investment Programme (GFIP) and to consolidate the gains made under the original GFIP programme, financing of USD 19.39 million loans and grants were extended to Ghana in January 2019 and out of this total sum, USD 7.0 million is being loaned out to support small to medium scale plantation development through a concessionary loan scheme.
He opined that the objective of the scheme is to stimulate private sector investment in commercial forest plantations, which he said will be achieved through the provision of financial assistance and technical support to small and medium-scale forest plantation investors.
The Deputy Minister informed the developers that there are terms and conditions to acquire the loan, and the most pertinent among all is ownership of the lands on which they have the plantation.
He appreciated the efforts of the sector minister and the ministry for the tireless efforts in getting the loan scheme approved, noting that he is certain the private sector will do a good job with this opportunity given.
The Minority leader in parliament, has asked Parliament to shoulder some of the blame and accountability for the failure to hold the executive branch of government accountable for carrying out its duties.
According to him, Parliament must accept the blame for the government’s excessive borrowing.
He said it was the responsibility of Parliament to check the excessive borrowing by the government, asking: “How did we get here?”
“Parliament’s role as the defender of the people’s interests is lost,” he said.
He made the admission on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, during a roundtable with the core leadership of Parliament on harnessing the dividends of democracy over the last 30 years, organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
Democratic dividends refer to the benefits that a democratic system can provide for society.
Among these benefits are the provision of public goods and an institutionalised arrangement for carrying the people along in the discharge of the duties of the state.
The discussion was on the theme: ‘Parliament and the harnessing of democratic dividends: Assignment.’
It brought together experts, including the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, and Dr Maame Adwoa Gyeke-Jandoh, former Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The Minority Leader admitted that Parliament was always found wanting when it came to exercising its oversight due to intense partisanship.
He said the House struggled to determine what was best for the national interest against the interests of political parties.
Mr. Iddrisu said the consequences of excessive borrowing were being felt by “all of us.”
He argued that Article 181 of the Constitution gave Parliament the sole right to approve the terms and conditions of all loans.
“So if the Minister of Finance’s borrowing has exceeded 100 percent of GDP, how did we get here?” He asked.
He intimated that Parliament had become a “clearing house,” approving Executive members nominated to serve, without scrutinizing them and telling them in the face “that their conduct is not good enough.”
“The Parliament of Ghana is contributing, through acts of commission or omission, to eroding public faith and confidence in our democracy,” he stressed.
The decision “complicates the planned debt restructuring intended to trigger a rescue by the International Monetary Fund,” according to a Bloomberg article.
The West African country’s debt was downgraded from CC to selected default because of the ban on debt payments, the credit assessor said in a statement on Tuesday. The country has $13 billion worth of foreign debts.
According to Bloomberg’s December 20, 2022 article, Ghana is experiencing “extremely low net reserves, a volatile currency rate, significant inflation, and the weaker economy” at the time of the default.
The rating by S&P was expected as the suspension of the debt payments signified a default by the country.
Government to suspend debt service payments under certain categories
Government through the Ministry of Finance has said it will suspend all debt service payments under certain categories of the country’s external debt component.
The move according to government is an interim emergency measure pending further agreement with the relevant creditors while some analysts have described it as Ghana effectively defaulting on its external debt.
A statement issued by the Ministry and sighted by GhanaWeb Business noted the decision is pending an orderly restructuring of the affected debt obligations.
It explained that the suspension will include payments on Ghana’s Eurobonds; Ghana’s commercial term loans; and a large portion of Ghana’s bilateral debt.
“This suspension will not include the payments of our multilateral debt, new debts (whether multilateral or otherwise) contracted after 19th December 2022 or debts related to certain short-term trade facilities,” the statement noted.
“We are also evaluating certain specific debts related to projects with the highest socio-economic impact for Ghana which may have to be excluded. This suspension is an interim emergency measure pending future agreements with all relevant creditors,” it added.
The Finance Ministry however added that government is keen on holding engagements with its external creditors in order to undertake a transparent, fair and comprehensive debt restructuring exercise in line with international best practices.
It further pointed out that the Ministry of Finance will hold an investor presentation at a date that will be announced in due course.
