Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has assured that the Ministry of Finance is fully committed to addressing the concerns raised by striking nurses and midwives in the country.
His assurance came in the wake of a nationwide industrial action embarked upon by members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), who are protesting the non-implementation of a collective bargaining agreement they reached with the previous administration.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on Wednesday, June 5, Mr. Akandoh stressed that his ministry has been working closely with the Finance Ministry to ensure that nurses’ grievances are resolved in a manner that prevents further disruption of healthcare delivery.
“They have been in constant touch with the Ministry of Finance because this goes beyond the Ministry of Health,” he explained. “I could not absolve myself from responsibility until the full implementation of the agreement because we are their employers. Where we have reached, the Minister of Finance would have to play a key role, of which we are engaging the Ministry.”
According to him, the Finance Ministry has given its word to help find a solution to the matter.
“I can tell you the Ministry of Finance is fully committed to finding solution for this matter,” Mr Akandoh stated.
He, however, cautioned that it will be difficult to hold meaningful negotiations while the strike is in full effect.
“But we cannot be on strike and negotiate at the same time,” he emphasized.
The Health Minister further acknowledged the adverse impact of the ongoing strike on patients, recounting an instance where a pregnant woman bitten by a snake was denied medical attention.
“These are all the things we want to avoid. I get emotional when I hear of some of these things,” he said.
Calling for calm, Mr Akandoh appealed to the nurses and midwives to return to the negotiation table in good faith.
“With the greatest of respect, lives lost can never be replaced. We are not ready to intimidate anybody, and I hope nobody wants to intimidate the government. We are the mother ministry, and we must behave as mothers, so we are calling on them to come and let’s talk,” he said.
He maintained that the government remains open and ready to engage the leadership of GRNMA at any time to ensure a lasting resolution to the issue.
“We operate an open-door policy, and I am ready to engage and meet anybody at any time. Not until we find a lasting solution to the matter, we will not rest,” he said.
The GRNMA strike began on Monday, June 2, with the association expected to fully withdraw all services by June 9 if their demands are not met.
The situation has already begun affecting healthcare delivery in parts of the country.
This budget review provided an update on the government’s financial performance across various economic sectors and outlined future projections.
“Mr. Speaker, Ghana is being positioned as an internationally competitive tourism destination. Tourist arrivals have increased from about 500,000 in 2023 to almost 600,000 in the first half of 2024,” parts of Amin Adam’s speech read.
Regarding the tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors in Ghana, the minister highlighted the country’s growing appeal as a top global tourist destination.
“This has increased receipts to about US$1.8 billion compared to US$1.5 billion over the same period last year.”
He noted that tourist arrivals had increased significantly, from about 500,000 in 2023 to nearly 600,000 in the first half of 2024.
This surge in visitors has boosted tourism revenue by $300 million compared to the same period in 2023, bringing total receipts to approximately $1.8 billion.
To accommodate the rising number of tourists, the government has been enhancing infrastructure within the tourism sector and renovating key sites.
The minister mentioned the redevelopment of notable attractions such as Aburi Gardens, the Yaa Asantewaa Mausoleum, the museum at Ejisu, and the Pikworo Slave Camp as part of these efforts.
“To complement this progress, we have enhanced tourism infrastructure, marketing, supply-chain links, through the redevelopment of key tourist sites such as Aburi Gardens, Yaa Asantewaa mausoleum, the museum at Ejisu, and the Pikworo Slave camp,” a part of the minister’s statement read.
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Ghana’s Minister of Finance, announced that nearly ten billion Ghana cedis have been invested in the road sector since January 2024, with the goal of improving transportation infrastructure across the country.
During his mid-year budget review presented to Parliament on July 23, Dr. Amin Adam highlighted several ongoing road projects, including the Juaboso-Boinzan, Winneba-Kasoa, Karaga Town, Gushegu Town, Tolon-Daboya, Nanton-Karaga-Gushegu Highway, Sefwi Wiawso town roads, and the Accra-Kumasi Road.
Completed projects include the Dadiesoba-Esiankyim-Manhyia roads, Antwi Agyeikrom-Debra Camp, Sunyani & Berekum inner city roads, Atebubu Town roads, Assin Fosu-Dunkwa-Cocoa Station, and Kwahu Tafo-Miaso road.
Key projects in various stages of completion are the Tamale-Tatale road rehabilitation, Phase 2 of the Tema Motorway Roundabout, the Accra Tema Motorway Flyover from Flowerpot roundabout to East Legon, and Phase 2 of the Suame Interchange.
Additionally, work is progressing on the dualization of Nsawam-Ofankor Road, Agona Nkwanta-Tarkwa Road, Dome-Kitase Road, and Phase 2 of the Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange.
Dr. Amin Adam also revealed that GH₵12 billion has been allocated to bondholders under the Domestic Debt Exchange programme, underscoring the government’s commitment.
Furthermore, GH₵1.5 billion has been allocated to support 1,488,575 students under the Free SHS programme from January to June 2024.
Additionally, GH₵5.4 billion has been distributed to support the LEAP, School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant, and NHIS since January 2024, aimed at alleviating the burden on vulnerable populations.
“We have disbursed 5.4 billion Ghana Cedis to support LEAP, School Feeding programme, Capitation Grant and NHIS since January, 2024 to reduce the burden on the vulnerable in our country,” the Minister added.
This performance, surpassing initial expectations, reflects the effectiveness of the government’s economic policies and the resilience of the Ghanaian people.
In his mid-year budget review presented to Parliament on July 23, 2024, Dr. Adam attributed this growth to robust policy measures, sound economic management, and the diligent efforts of Ghanaians.
He emphasized that the government’s strategic interventions have fostered a stable environment conducive to economic expansion.
The Finance Minister highlighted several key areas of focus: fiscal discipline, critical sector investments, and support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
“Our economy grew by 4.7% in the first quarter of this year, surpassing our expectations. This growth demonstrates the resilience of our economic policies and the hard work of Ghanaians,” he stated during his mid-year budget review presentation to Parliament on July 23, 2024.
Maintaining fiscal discipline, according to Dr. Adam, is crucial for sustaining growth and ensuring a stable investment climate.
Infrastructure investments, such as those in roads and the Agenda 111 hospital project, have played a significant role in boosting economic activity and job creation. Additionally, the government’s mobilization of GH¢8.2 billion to support SMEs addresses critical challenges like finance access, capacity building, and market entry, reinforcing their pivotal role in driving economic growth and innovation.
Improvements in inflation rates and exchange rate stability have also contributed to a more favorable economic environment for businesses and households.
Despite ongoing global economic uncertainties, Dr. Adam expressed confidence that the government’s proactive strategies will continue to mitigate risks and support sustained growth.
“The government has been focusing on key areas to drive economic recovery, such as fiscal discipline, investment in critical sectors, and support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).”
Beyond economic achievements, the mid-year review underscored the government’s commitment to enhancing social services and improving living standards.
Dr. Adam emphasized that these investments are integral to promoting inclusive growth and ensuring that all Ghanaians benefit from the country’s progress.
Minister of Finance Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam addressed concerns over speculative activities impacting Ghana’s currency, the Cedi, during his recent press briefing in Accra.
He emphasized the need to curb these speculations for the country’s benefit, noting their detrimental effects on the Cedi’s stability.
Dr. Adam expressed confidence in the Cedi’s future stability, particularly after the completion of the domestic debt exchange program.
He highlighted ongoing efforts towards fiscal consolidation and reserve improvements as key factors expected to bolster the Cedi’s strength in the medium term.
Despite recent pressures on the Cedi due to various factors such as heightened demand from corporate entities, contractor payments, and speculation, Dr. Adam pointed out positive trends in the currency’s performance.
He noted a significant reduction in the Cedi’s depreciation against the US Dollar, from 54.2% in November 2022 to 27.8% in December 2023. As of May 20, 2024, the cumulative depreciation stood at 14.2%, a notable improvement compared to the same period in 2023.
Overall, Dr. Adam remains optimistic about the Cedi’s stability moving forward, citing ongoing strategies to address economic challenges and enhance currency resilience.
“But for recent pressures, we are seeing on exchange rate movements, the exchange rate has been largely stabilised with the depreciation of the cedi against the US Dollar halving from 54.2% at the end of Nov 2022 to 27.8% at the end of Dec 2023.
“The Cedi’s stability has continued into 2024, with a cumulative depreciation of 14.2% as of 20th May 2024, compared to 20.7% recorded in the same period in 2023. We expect the cedi’s stability to improve into the medium-term as we complete debt restructuring, make more progress on fiscal consolidation, and improve our reserves over the medium-term.”
“The recent pressures we are observing on the cedi is largely on the back of the strengthening of the US Dollar against major trading currencies, seasonal forex demand including elevated demand from corporate institutions, payment to contractors and to IPPs, high Cedi liquidity and speculation.”
Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has provided assurance to Ghanaians regarding the availability of an adequate supply of foreign exchange in the market to sustain the progress made in improving the performance of the local currency, the Cedi.
He emphasized that the Bank of Ghana has significantly bolstered reserves to enhance the stability of the Cedi against major trading currencies.
During a press briefing held on May 24, 2024, to update the public on the economy, the finance minister disclosed that Ghana is set to receive a total disbursement of US$2.3 billion by the end of the year.
These disbursements are part of the IMF bailout package, World Bank loan facility, and other related funding from donor partners.
“We, therefore, expect total disbursements of at least US$2.32 billion before the end of the year to add to the significant foreign exchange reserves already built up by the BoG,” the minister said.
Dr. Amin Adam advises Ghanaians against hastily purchasing foreign exchange from the market. He asserts that speculative activities surrounding the performance of the Cedi often lead to its depreciation.
“We wish to assure Ghanaians that there is enough foreign exchange. Hence, there is no need to rush and buy forex,” the finance minister said.
Meanwhile, the Ghanaian Cedi has experienced one of its worst declines in decades. At major forex bureaus in the capital Accra, the local currency is trading at GH¢15.00 as of May 24, 2024.
International news portal, Bloomberg, has predicted that the value of the Cedi will depreciate further by the end of the year.
Minister of Finance-designate, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, expressed optimism about the country’s economic outlook, highlighting positive indicators during his speech at the Health Sector Annual Summit 2024.
Dr. Adam noted a decline in inflation, signaling an improvement in the economy. He conveyed his confidence in this trend continuing, projecting further reduction by the year’s end.
Speaking as the manager of the economy, Dr. Adam emphasized the resilience of Ghana’s economic recovery despite challenges.
He attributed this success to effective policy measures, citing growth surpassing expectations in 2023.
Highlighting the robust economic performance, he revealed that growth exceeded projections, reaching 2.9% compared to the anticipated 1.5% in 2023. Dr. Adam expressed optimism about the year ahead, citing current trends.
“The economy is rebounding strongly, and I can tell you as manager of the economy that our recovery is really strong. We face serious challenges, but the future is looking brighter and brighter,” he said.
He also discussed the decline in inflation, which dropped from 54% at the end of 2022 to 25% after 12 months. Dr. Adam outlined the government’s target to reduce inflation to 15% by the end of 2024 and achieve a single-digit rate by 2027.
“As a result of the policies we have implemented, economic growth has become more robust than ever anticipated. Projected to grow by 1.5% last year [2023], we grew by 2.9%.
In conclusion, Dr. Adam reaffirmed the government’s commitment to economic stability and outlined its goals for inflation reduction in the coming years.
“The signs of growth we’re seeing from the data also show that this year will be strong, and so, when I say the economy is strong, I mean it. Inflation has also been on the decline, from a peak of 54% at the end of 2022, and 12 months later, it came down to 25%,” he explained.
“We are working to ensure inflation reaches 15% by the end of this year. And by the end of 2027, inflation comes with a single digit,” he said.
Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has expressed scepticism regarding the possibility of Ghanaians favouring the National Democratic Congress over the ruling New Patriotic Party in the 2024 elections.
He emphasised that the government has been confronted with unprecedented global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but remains committed to addressing these issues.
“We don’t know that. It’s amazing when you think that something that has not happened in 100 years has happened and we are where we are compared to other countries.
And knowing that we understand the problem and are committed to solving it,” he told journalists when they appeared to vote during the NPP delegates conference.
Furthermore, he suggested that Ghanaians would have a clearer understanding of which decision to make at the 2024 polls as the year approaches.
“I think Ghanaians will make up their minds at that time. I’m sure the economy will be stronger; we have a growth agenda that tackles the issue of jobs and we will prevail. We’ve done it before and we will do it again,”Ofori-Atta said.
The 2023 mid-year budget review will be presented by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in Parliament on Monday, July 31, 2023.
Initially scheduled for July 27, 2023, the presentation encountered changes, first being rescheduled to July 25, 2023, and subsequently canceled.
The Finance Ministry, in accordance with Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), announced that the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy for the 2023 Financial Year of the Government of Ghana will now take place on July 31, 2023.
This budget review will provide crucial updates on the implementation of the 2023 Budget, offering insights into the economic and fiscal performance during the first half of the year.
It will focus on policies aimed at stabilizing the economy, promoting growth, and providing social protection for vulnerable groups, following the guidelines of the IMF-supported Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).
Key issues to be highlighted during the presentation, according to the Finance Ministry, include structural reforms in expenditure commitment control and arrears clearance, debt management, financial stability, and the pursuit of a growth agenda.
Following standard practice, the government will engage in Post-Budget Engagements to elucidate various policy choices to the public, as stated by the Ministry of Finance.
Several Members of Parliament (MPs), in an interview with the media, shared their expectations for the mid-year budget review.
They expressed hopes for the government to reduce taxes, consolidate various taxes, and allocate more funds to the educational sector and the school feeding program.
Additionally, MPs voiced concern over the high unemployment rate among young people and the shortage of fertilizers in the country. MP Richard Kwami Sefe from Anlo particularly emphasized that the fertilizer shortage is adversely affecting farming activities in his constituency, leading to increased fertilizer costs and hindering farmers’ profitability. He appealed for government intervention to address the situation.
MP Paul Twum Barimah of Dormaa East echoed the sentiment that the economy is already burdened and hoped that the mid-year budget review would not introduce new taxes. Instead, he urged the government to focus on reducing taxes to better manage the nation’s economic situation, considering the challenges faced by Ghanaians.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has outlined some reforms the government is embarking on to ensure the economy returns to stable levels.
According to him major sectors of the economy like the energy and cocoa sectors will under some major reforms to reduce the losses.
He added that the reforms which are aimed at sustainably reducing losses in the energy sector, will be outlined in the updated Energy Sector Recovery Plan (ESRP), which will be approved by Cabinet by the end of June 2023.
Ofori-Atta whiles addressing a press conference on June 19, 2023, he stated it will be accompanied by, amongst others, the: i. Operationalization of a framework to guide the granting of energy sector subsidies by the end of June 2023;
ii. Implementation of an inter-utility debt settlement framework on a quarterly basis starting from June 2023; and
iii. Implementation of a mechanism to enforce the guidelines of the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) and Natural Gas Clearinghouse (NGC) by end-June 2023.
The Finance Minister who is quite optimistic about the country’s recovery added that similar reforms will be instituted in the cocoa sector as well.
He said: “Similar reforms are envisaged under the PC-PEG to revamp the Cocoa Sector and reduce/eliminate the annual losses of Cocobod and its indebtedness.
“The reforms in the Cocoa sector include the implementation of a turnaround strategy, to be approved by Cabinet by end-June 2023. This is expected to address cocoa pricing issues, Cocobod oversight challenges, introduce cost rationalisation measures, and a phase-out of quasi-fiscal spending.”
Other structural reforms to entrench fiscal discipline and bolster transparency include reforms to enhance revenue administration and tax policy, operationalization of the Human Resource Management Information System, enhancing spending controls and prevention of arrears build-up, and streamlining of earmarked funds.
In addition, Government is transitioning from Central Government reporting to General Government, and from cash to accrual reporting, the minister said.
Government to secure significant support from our multilateral partners – Finance Minister.
Africa Economic Summit, the first annual summit that establishes Africa as the frontier of global thinking on major economic issues in the world is an assemblage of senior leaders committed to the growth of the continent to discuss issues and frame solutions to the economic problems affecting African nations.
Holding for the third time since its inception in 2022, the Summit delivers a very influential network of leaders from around Africa and the world including top government officials, diplomats and senior business leaders.
The Summit has been successfully held in Cairo Egypt and Lagos Nigeria in the past.
According to Dr Brian Reuben, the CEO, Africa Economic Summit Group, organizers of the Summit, history shows that value shifts are always triggered by a new story.
The current state of the world has given us a rare chance to Africa to rewrite the story of Africa. But to do that, governments of African nations need the boldness to review and challenge the current models which drive government and private sector actions in Africa.
Through the Africa Economic Summit African and global leaders come together to facilitate new investments, encourage business development, share best practices, guarantee peer-to-peer networking, offer new industry insight, showcase excellence and promote thought leadership.
Engr Gbenga Komolafe – CEO, Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission; Bolaji Osunsanya – CEO, AXXELA, Nigeria; Dr McDan McKorley, Chairman McDan Group, Ghana. Others include Mazi Dr Sam Ohuabunwa – Former President of Nigeria Economic Summit Group;
Dr Joan M. Kiema-Ngunnzi – Minister of Trade And Industrialization, Government of Embu, Kenya; Mr Mohamed Abbas Fayed
CEO of FAB Bank – Egypt; Prof. Ndubisi Ekekwe – Founder, Tekedia Institute, USA and El Shahat El Ghatwary – Commissioner, Egypt Customs Authority, Prof Mohamed Loutfi, President and first Vice-Chancellor, The British University in Egypt among others.
‘The two-day summit will close with a release of a white paper on coordinated actions that governments and institutions should commit to and implement for the improvement of the economy of Africa, strengthening the competitiveness of African companies, addressing security challenges among others’, the Group CEO stated.
Newmont Golden Ridge Ltd (Akyem Mine) has presented a cheque for GH¢184.6 million to the Government of Ghana, as dividend for the year 2022.
The amount represents the government’s carried interest in the operations of the Akyem mine.
The cheque presentation was made by executives of Newmont Africa, led by the Regional Senior Vice-President – Africa Operations, David Thornton.
Mr Thornton thanked the government for its continuous support to Newmont Africa’s Ahafo and Akyem mines and reiterated the company’s commitment to responsible mining operations, while looking to expand Newmont Africa’s footprint in the country with the Ahafo North project.
“Our Ahafo North project remains a key strategic growth prospect for Newmont Africa, and its successful construction and subsequent operation will have immense benefits to our host communities, the local economy, as well as the broader economy of Ghana, in terms of employment creation, local supply chain opportunities, as well as taxes, royalties, and dividend payments to government,” Mr Thornton said.
On Newmont Africa’s direct support to the Ghanaian economy in the past year, beyond statutory payments, Mr Thornton mentioned the company’s support for the government’s gold buying programme that was meant to shore up the country’s gold reserves and help stabilise the economy.
“In spite of global economic challenges that had negatively impacted businesses globally, Newmont Africa was the first mining company to support the government’s gold buying programme by selling 3,500 ounces of gold to the government, through the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in May 2022.”
“An additional 22,500 ounces of gold was sold to BoG in October and November 2022, making a total of 26,000 ounces of gold sold to government in 2022,” he added.
Newmont commended
Receiving the cheque, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, commended Newmont Africa for its compliance to tax and other financial payments to the government of Ghana.
The minister also lauded Newmont Africa for its prompt payment of taxes and acknowledged the potential benefits of the Ahafo North project.
He said, “We welcome payments such as these, especially during these challenging times, and we wish to commend you for being prompt with your payments, be they taxes, royalties, or dividends.”
“We are aware that the Ghana Revenue Authority has recognised you, on several occasions, for your tax compliance.
We look forward to the resumption of your Ahafo North project this year, which will bring in even more revenue to the state.”
Through a combination of tax payments in United States dollars, as well as making forex available to the BoG, Newmont Africa has supported and impacted forex availability to the government of Ghana.
On Thursday, February 16, 2023, Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to address the legislature and discuss the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
The Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, made this known on Friday, February 10, 2023, when he presented the Business Statement for the coming week to the House.
This comes after the Speaker of Parliament,Alban Bagbin’s ruling, following calls by MPs to summon the finance minister to furnish the House with details of the programme.
The MPs, earlier this week, argued that it is unacceptable for parliament and the general public not to have been furnished with the full details of the DDEP, a situation they say continues to fuel anxiety about the exercise.
MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had earlier noted that the government is acting contrary to what the finance minister had promised in the 2023 budget, announcing the details of the debt exchange programme before its implementation.
The failure, he said, has led to some challenges in its implementation, including the recent picketing by affected pensioners and individual bond holders at the ministry.
“Ghanaians are genuinely concerned about their life savings and investments, and this House is yet to be briefed. We have not debated this programme and yet the Ministry of Finance is going ahead to implement this debt exchange programme which they say is a condition for the ongoing IMF engagements.
“The Minister of Finance must appear before us and we must debate and agree exactly what should be the nature of this Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, who should be exempted and the implications – what are the full ramifications on the Ghanaian economy and on the affected citizens who are currently living in anguish, in pain and great anxiety,” he said.
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.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has couched the mantra ‘Breaking the 8’ to signify their intent to win the 2024 polls and to break the 8-year power rotation cycle between them and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) since 1992.
According to Ofori-Atta the conduct of upcoming parliamentary and presidential primaries will have a significant impact on whether or not the party can win the next elections.
He was speaking in an address after a recent visit to the NPP headquarters in Accra as part of efforts to bridge the gap between the party and government.
“The Minister for Finance thanked the party leadership for the warm reception and commended them… Hon. Ofori-Atta concluded his remarks by urging the party leadership to put in place adequate guidelines to ensure a smooth conduct of its parliamentary and presidential primaries as that is critical to the Party’s quest to win a-third consecutive general elections (break the eight),” a January 13 statement issued by the NPP said.
The party will in the coming months elect parliamentary candidates across the country as well as a presidential flagbearer to take over from president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo whose final term expires in January 2025.
The minister endured a challenging 2022 with a failing economy that triggered calls for his sacking from the opposition and members of civil society as well as a group of NPP lawmakers.
Ofori-Atta also came under sustained attacks after government opted to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at a time the cedi was suffering massive depreciation, inflation was galloping and the economy was suffering downgrades from rating agencies.
Actress Lydia Forson has poked leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Asare Otcere-Darko with respect to current economic challenges Ghana is facing.
Miss Forson, who is known for her hot takes on the economy and politics, coughed up a tweet Gabby authored in 2015 when the NPP was in opposition, she quoted the tweet and sarcastically greeted Gabby.
Gabby’s post read: “If running an economy was all about borrowing your way into an unsustainable debt hole then any half wit could be president.”
Lydia Forson’s quoted tweet of December 5, 2022; read: “Hello from the other side,” accompanied by an emoji of a waving hand.
The Minister of Finance announced a number of measures under government’s Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme late Sunday.
He stated in a 4-minute address that the announcement was in line with government’s Debt Sustainability Analysis as contained in the 2023 budget he presented to Parliament on November 24.
The Minister laid out among others the exchange of existing domestic bonds with four new ones as well as their maturity dates and terms of coupon payments.
He also addressed the overarching goal of the government relative to its engagements with the International Monetary Fund as well as measures to minimize impact of domestic bond exchange on different stakeholders.
“The Government of Ghana has been working hard to minimize the impact of the domestic debt exchange on investors holding government bonds, particularly small investors, individuals, and other vulnerable groups,” he said before outlining three main measures:
• Treasury Bills are completely exempted and all holders will be paid the full value of their investments on maturity.
• There will be NO haircut on the principal of bonds.
• Individual holders of bonds will not be affected.
Minister of Finance on December 4, 2022; announced measures in government’s Domestic Debt Exchange, DDE, as part of Ghana wider debt sustainability at a time Ghana is seeking support from the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
He stated in a four-minute address that the announcement was in line with government’s Debt Sustainability Analysis as contained in the 2023 budget he presented to Parliament on November 24.
The Minister laid out among others the exchange of existing domestic bonds with four new ones as well as their maturity dates and terms of coupon payments.
He also addressed the overarching goal of the government relative to its engagements with the International Monetary Fund as well as measures to minimize impact of domestic bond exchange on different stakeholders.
In the concluding part of his announcement, Ofori-Atta reiterated thus: “These are difficult times and we count on the support of all Ghanaians and the investor community to make the exercise successful.
“We are confident that these measures will contribute to restoring macroeconomic stability. With your understanding and support and that of the entire investor community, we shall overcome our current difficulties, and with the help of God, put our economy back on the path of renewed and robust growth,” he said.
He concluded the address on a Biblical note, saying: “As 1st Samuel 30:19 says, nothing was missing, small or great. I say to you, nothing will be lost, nothing will be missing, and nothing will be broken. We will, together, recover all.
Members of Parliament will today, November 29, 2022, begin debate on the 2023 budget statement presented by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta last week.
Portions of the budget have been met with opposition as industry players lament the impact it will have on their businesses and livelihood.
The government intends for the 2023 budget to focus on strategies to restore and stabilise the macroeconomy, build resilience, and promote inclusive growth and value creation.
The budget statement featured updates on Ghana’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund for a $3 billion programme, the macro-fiscal performance of the economy; the YouStart initiative under the Ghana CARES Programme; climate action strategies; fiscal measures and debt management strategies to ensure fiscal and debt sustainability and promote growth.
Among the new policies proposed in the budget, which are likely to be implemented under an IMF programme, will be a freeze on public sector employment and new tax measures as the government moves to cut down expenditure and boost revenue.
The freeze on employment has already courted criticism from the Minority in Parliament and the Trade Union Congress.
Among the notable proposals, the Electronic Transfer Levy headline rate is to be reduced to 1 percent, Value Added Tax will be increased from 12.5 percent to 15 percent, the benchmark discount policy is to be fully phased out in 2023 and an additional income tax bracket of 35 percent is to be introduced.
Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, disclosed in the 2023 budget statement that Ghana’s public debt has increased by GH₵93 billion ($6.53 billion at the current rate) due to the depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi since the beginning of 2022.
According to him, the said amount is twice more than the anticipated US$3 billion bailout Ghana is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In the 2023 budget statement, he said the cedi has depreciated by 53.8% and 54.2% against the dollar as of October 2022 and November 2022.
The depreciation is due to the fact that the country cannot access the International Capital Market due to the continuous credit rating downgrades. The tightening of domestic financing conditions and the increasing cost of borrowing has also contributed to further depreciation.
Ofori-Atta added that there has been a high demand for forex to finance the import bill, including the import of crude, and the financing of electricity has worsened the performance of the cedi and led to the high depreciation.
“Ghana’s import bill, the budget stated, exceeds US$10 billion annually. Considering the low foreign earnings, it has been difficult to meet the import requirements including crude oil and petroleum products of about US$400m (GH₵4.80 billion) a month. The Ministry of Finance also requires about US$1.0 billion per year to finance the lights in homes and workplaces,” he said.
“For us at the Ministry of Finance, the depreciation of the cedi seriously affects our ability to effectively manage our debt. Indeed, our stock of debt has increased by GH¢93 billion this year alone due to the depreciation of the cedi at the beginning of 2022,” the Finance Minister added.
Ghana is seeking a three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme of $3bn at the International Monetary Fund. This means that this potential bailout cannot even finance the debt accumulated as a result of the depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi.
Having presented the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Ghana to parliament in the last 6 years, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has become known for one profound, unmistakable thing: quoting biblical scriptures.
Like the typical white attires that the minister has been synonymous with in his administration, many have always looked forward to which scripture he would state in his addresses to parliament.
And while he did not disappoint again this time, there was a new addition that perhaps, is the expectation that Ghanaians would be consoled by.
In his concluding words while presenting the 2023 budget to parliament, on Thursday, November 24, 2022, the minister shared some words in the local Ga language.
Not a typical reader of the Ga language, Ken Ofori-Atta attempted to read the words, ‘N) fiaa n) baa hi,’ to wit, ‘everything will be fine or alright.’
The consoling words from the minister were perhaps, intended to communicate to Ghanaians that regardless of the current economic downturns the country is faced with, there is light at the end of the dark tunnel.
Ghana has been at one of its lowest economically in many decades, with unprecedented statistics in such areas as the performance of the Ghana cedi to the US dollar, fuel prices, as well as debt to GDP figures.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said that the overreaching focus of the president Akufo-Addo government has been to do their utmost to make lives better for the citizens.
Appearing before the Adhoc Committee of Parliament hearing the censure motion brought against him, Mr Ofori-Atta said everything that the administration had sought to do was aimed at making the lives of the people better.
He also assured the committee that he would be forthright in his responses with the aim of aiding them to establish the truth.
He said the motion contained disparaging remarks that attacked his integrity and vowed to help give Ghanaians a balance views of issues.
“Hon Co-Chairs, during the course of my remarks this morning, you can expect forthrightness.
The proponents’ motion of censure has accused me of many things and includes some very disparaging remarks and attacks on my person and integrity.
“I am certain that Ghanaians will have a more balanced view of the events that led us here as I take the opportunity to speak to the matters raised,” he said.
He said his principal reflections were to ensure that by the end of the proceedings, “the truth will have taken center stage.
He was hopeful that the truth would help dispel any “unfounded doubts” about his motives, competence, and character.
“Before I proceed with my detailed responses, I would like to make a personal comment to the Ghanaian people: Since, the Akufo-Addo government came into office in 2017, everything we have sought to do was aimed at making the lives of the people better.
“We have been focused on this vision to improve lives and in the first four years, our efforts were leading to a realisation of the vision,” he said.
It is clear now that the number of Members of Parliament on the Majority side of parliament who want their own, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, out, have increased.
From the initial 80 New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs, the number has been reported to have risen to 98 in the last few days, owing from a revamped decision by the lawmakers to have the embattled minister step down.
In that first press conference to call on the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to heed to their call, the MPs also threatened to boycott government business in parliament in protest, should their request be refused.
But a few hours later, something major happened that got the ‘angry’ MPs to relax their stance.
Akufo-Addo meets NPP MPs calling for Ken Ofori-Atta’s dismissal:
Following the public declaration of disapproval of the finance minister by the MPs, an emergency meeting was conveyed at the behest of President Akufo-Addo to deliberate and understand the misgivings of the MPs towards the minister.
The major fallout from the meeting was the president’s requests to the MPs to allow the finance minister three weeks to prepare the 2023 budget and conclude negotiations with the International Monetary fund.
Speaking to Oyerepa TV, the Member of Parliament for Efiduase Asokore, Nana Ayew Afriyie, stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised to act in a manner that will not require the MPs to come back to him.
“He [Akufo-Addo] promised us this way, after the end of the budget it won’t be necessary for us to come to him because of what he would do about the finance minister, because by then, there will be no need to come back to him,” he said.
Ayew Afriyie said the president also mentioned four decisions he will take with regard to the matter.
“He can do any of the following: sack the finance minister, reshuffle, re-assignment, or a replacement. He will do something that will not require us to come back to him,” Ayew Afriyie said.
He however added that: “Even if the economy bounces back, we still want Ofori-Atta and Charles Adu Boahen to be gone.”
And then after a while – when the NPP MPs seemed to have been living by the request of the president, they returned to state that they want him out again.
This time, the number shot up to 98.
And while this happened at a time an ad hoc committee in parliament, put together by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to look into a vote of censure on the finance minister, the MPs insisted on still pushing for Ofori-Atta to be sacked.
President Kufuor meets with 98 NPP MPs:
According to a starrfm.com.gh report, former President John Agyekum Kufuor has reportedly invited the 98 NPP MPs threatening to boycott the 2023 budget presentation should the current finance minister go ahead to read it in parliament.
The meeting Starr News understands is for the former leader to resolve the standoff that has prevailed over the past weeks.
Spokesperson for the agitating MPs, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, publicly announced the decision and stated that they have resolved to get Ken Ofori-Atta out this time.
He stressed that they are convinced it is time for the beleaguered finance minister to leave, amid the minority censure motion laid in the House against him.
“We’ve gone back to (our demand for the President to) sack him now and therefore should the budget be presented under the stamp of the finance minister, we’ll not participate because as far as we’re concerned we’re never going to do business with him.
“And if we’re not going to do business with him, he does not participate in any process from the Presidency to the House. We will not participate in deliberations too,” Appiah-Kubi said.
It remains to be seen whether the group will compromise its position the second time after the former president’s intervention.
The Ad hoc Committee tasked to investigate the various allegations to justify the removal of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta,from office commenced hearing yesterday, with the proponents of the censure motion outlining seven grounds to substantiate their call to push out the minister to save the Ghanaian economy from further deterioration.
The lead proponent, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, assisted by the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, supported the seven grounds with figures from official documents, such as budgets and fiscal data series from the Ministry of Finance website, to firm up their motion for Parliament to impeach Mr Ofori-Atta.
They mentioned the grounds as conflict of interest, unconstitutional withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund, illegal payment of oil revenues into offshore accounts, deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament, fiscal recklessness, leading to the crash of the Ghana cedi, incompetence and frightening ineptitude and gross mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy.
Supporting documents
To make their case, Mr Iddrisu tendered documents on which they are relying, including the Hansard on parliamentary debate on November 10, 2022, the Public Financial Management Act, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982) and the Bank of Ghana Act, 2022 (Act 612).
Other documents on which they will rely are Article 82 of the 1992 Constitution, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee reports from 2018 to mid-2022, Staff Reports of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the rapid credit facility from 2018 to 2021, fiscal data from the Ministry of Finance website, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982), the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815), budget statements from 2019 to 2022 and mid-year budget statements presented to Parliament from 2019 to 2022.
They are also relying on the Auditor-General’s report from 2018 to 2020, as well as information they have compiled from internationally recognised analyst websites, such as Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg.
Minister’s appearance
Originally, Mr Ofori-Atta was not due to appear before the committee, but he showed up at yesterday’s hearing in the company of his lawyer, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, and his two deputies at the Finance Ministry, Dr John Kumah and Abena Osei-Asare, to apprise himself of the arguments being put up by the proponents of the censure motion to allow him to defend himself properly tomorrow.
Mr Ofori-Atta, dressed in his signature white ‘khaftan’ attire, was later joined by the Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah.
Demand by minister
The documents tendered were in response to a letter which the committee received from the Finance Minister, dated November 14, this year, which a co-chairman of the committee, Mr K.T. Hammond, had read out.
The letter, he said, had requested for specifics of the seven grounds (allegations) made against the minister by the motion proponents, as well as relevant evidential documents to enable him to properly defend himself.
Subsequently, both co-chairmen of the committee asked the proponents if there were any documents that they would be relying on for the purpose of making their case against the minister.
Furnish us with all documents
Unhappy with the list of documents being tendered by the proponents of the motion, counsel for Mr Ofori-Atta intervened and said per Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution, since the hearing was a quasi-judicial process, his client deserved a fair hearing.
Mr Otchere Darko said in the event matters did not go well at the hearing, the minister faced potentially the severest punishment a minister could get — removal from office.
He, therefore, requested for the full particulars of facts in respect of each of the allegations contained in their letter in order not to cause the minister to be ambushed right before the committee, “without any preparation to start answering questions”.
“Before we start this procedure, all we are asking for, in the interest of justice, is that we should be furnished with the full particulars of fact in support of each allegation contained in the letter.
“The documents are fine; before we look into the documents, we want the charges to be complete with the particulars,” Mr Otchere Darko said.
Why hearing?
On November 10, this year, the Minority Leader moved a motion on a vote of censure on the floor of Parliament to compel the House to impeach the Finance Minister.
However, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, referred the matter to the eight-member committee, co-chaired by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, K. T. Hammond, and the MP for Bolgatanga East, Dr Dominic Ayine, to probe the allegations for prima facie evidence and report to the House in seven working days.
Based on the outcome of the hearing and the recommendations of the committee, the House will consider whether there are enough grounds to impeach and stop Mr Ofori-Atta from holding himself as the Finance Minister.
Minister not competent
Leading evidence in each of the allegations contained in the motion, the Minority Leader dwelt on the ground of unconstitutional withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund.
Starting with the construction of the National Cathedral, Mr Iddrisu said nobody was against the President promising and honouring God with a cathedral.
He, however, said public resources for such project should be approved by Parliament.
Contrary to that, he cited how a warrant signed by the Finance Minister on October 29, this year, led to the expenditure of GH¢142.76 million being allocated for the construction of the cathedral and asked if such an allocation was approved by Parliament.
Fiscal recklessness
On the deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament, the Minority Leader referred to the Auditor-General’s report and said per reports by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana’s national debt stock exceeded GH¢450 billion.
“As it was inherited in 2017, it was GH¢120 billion and the amount of money we now spend to service debt as of the end of 2021 was GH¢37 billion, ballooning to GH¢45 billion estimated by the close of this year.
“This can only be as a result of irresponsible borrowing,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He also reflected on the escalating inflation in the country to buttress his point.
He also cited the President’s broadcast to the nation on Sunday, October 30, this year about how high inflation had contributed to unacceptable hardship facing Ghanaians today, saying “we are holding the Minister of Finance wholly responsible for that”.
Mr Iddrisu said in 2017, $1 was equivalent to GH¢4.2, but today $1 was GH¢15 and highlighted how the cost of doing business had become unacceptably high.
“The pharmaceutical industry is complaining because it affects their imports and they are made to pay more,” he said, adding that the depreciation of the cedi had even affected Makola women because they could not trade effectively, as they made loses due to the consequence of borrowing.
Quoting from the Auditor-General’s report of December 31, last year, he said the annual budget funding amount reported by the Ministry of Finance was GH¢2.06 billion, whereas the Controller and Accountant General reported GH¢3.3 billion, a variance GH¢1.3 billion.
He said the Minority was dissatisfied with the performance of the Finance Minister and considered him not competent to continue to hold office as Finance Minister.
Unsustainable debt
Dr Forson also told the committee that the government had since been misreporting economic data to Parliament with the aim of misleading the House and the investor community.
That was mainly to create the false impression to Parliament that the Finance Minister had complied with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982), when that was not the case, he said.
Quoting Act 982, he said in spite of a set of rigid rules on fiscal responsibility, Ghana’s debt had become unsustainable.
“What we have seen over the years, even though the Finance Minister has been presenting some economic data to Parliament, is that in 2018, our minister and the government had said to Parliament that the fiscal deficit was 3.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The reason they said it was 3.9 per cent of GDP was that a key expenditure worth GH¢9.8 billion was excluded from the fiscal account, as they treated it below the line and that had to do with financial sector payment.
“The law says that anytime you reach six per cent, the vote of censure must happen and this law was assented by the President on December 28, 2018,” Dr Forson stated.
He added that if the GH¢9.8 billion was to be accounted for to include what was excluded and treated below the line, “the actual fiscal deficit for 2018 was 7.1 per cent of GDP, which clearly means that the censure motion in line with Section 4 of Act 982 triggers,” he said.
He added that in 2019, Mr Ofori-Atta informed Parliament that the fiscal deficit was 4.8 per cent of GDP, while excluding the financial sector payment of GH¢3.1 billion and energy payment of GH¢5.1 billion from the fiscal accounting.
“So if you are to factor in all of that, the fiscal deficit is actually 7.1 per cent of GDP, at a time when the fiscal rules had not been suspended, breaching sections 2 and 4 of Act 982,” he said.
On conflict of interest, he recalled what the minister told Parliament in answer to a question that his company, Databank Financial Services Limited, made GH¢159.3 million as book runners for bonds between 2017 and 2021.
The eight-member ad hoc committee set up by Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to probe embattled Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta will start sitting today, a member of the committee has announced.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, in a social media post revealed that sittings will be public and also broadcast live.
According to him, doing so will ultimately be in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
“The Ken Ofori-Atta Vote of Censure Parliamentary Committee will commence sittings tomorrow 15/11/22 at 11 am.
“It’s an absolute delight to announce that the committee shall sit in public & all proceedings will be broadcast live in the true spirit of transparency & accountability,” his post read.
Speaker sets up ad hoc Committee over Ofori-Atta censure motion
Alban Bagbin, on Thursday, November 10 announced an ad hoc committee to probe allegations in a vote of censure motion against the embattled Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The 8-member ad hoc committee was constituted with Members of Parliament elected by the leadership of both sides of the House.
Their main task is to probe the seven allegations contained in the censure motion filed late last month by Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, which motion is seeking the removal of Ofori-Atta from office.
The committee is expected to submit a report within 7 days.
The composition of the committee is as follows:
It will be chaired by Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahir (K.T.) Hammond and the MP for Bolgatanga Dominic Akuritinga Ayine.
The three members from the Minority side are:
MP for North Tongu; Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa;
MP for Korle Klottey, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings; and
MP for Akatsi South, Bernard Ahiafor.
From the Majority caucus, the members include:
MP for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah;
MP for Asante-Akim Central, Michael Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi; and
MP for Sekondi, Andrew Kofi Agyapa Mercer.
How motion of censure against Ofori-Atta was argued
The Minority Leader filed a motion of censure late last month against Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta.
The motion was duly admitted by Speaker Alban Bagbin and on November 10, the motion was moved by Haruna Iddrisu to trigger debate and a vote on same.
Speaker Bagbin, however, in his interpretation of the rules the Minority relied on referred the issue to an 8-member ad hoc committee formed to probe the Minority’s claims against the Finance Minister.
The committee co-chaired by Dominic Ayine (NDC) and KT Hammond (NPP) is expected to present their report in seven-days, following which the House will proceed with the censure process or otherwise.
Below are the seven-points for which the Minority want Ofori-Atta censured:
a. Despicable conflict of interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantages particularly from Ghana’s debt overhang
b. Unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund in blatant contravention of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution, supposedly for the construction of the President’s Cathedral.
c. Illegal payment of oil revenues into offshore accounts, in flagrant violation of Article 176 of the 1992 Constitution.
d. Deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament
e. Fiscal recklessness leading to the crash of the Ghana Cedi which is currently the worst-performing currency in the world
f. Alarming incompetence and frightening ineptitude, resulting in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy and an excruciating cost of living crisis
g. Gross mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy which has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship
According to him, the country could no longer continue to import goods from other countries, indicating that the ministry would continue to work with the relevant regulatory authorities to reverse the trend.
Addressing members of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) at a high-level meeting in Accra recently, the minister noted that the challenges the nation is currently facing are daunting and that “the exigencies of the moment have forced us to turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve our short-term challenges and the long-term structural problems that have inhibited our economic transformation”.
Mr Ofori-Atta reiterated President Nana Akufo-Addo’s call for a reduction in the dependence on imported goods and enhance the country’s self-reliance, noting: “Clearly, the time has come for us to put in place the foundations that would allow our industry to be the backbone of our resilience and structural transformation”.
Giving statistics to buttress his claim for a shift from importation to local production, he disclosed that between 2017 and 2020, the government spent as much as GHS 6.874 billion on the importation of rice, GHS 3.993 billion on fish, GHS 1.881 billion on chicken (processed), GHS 487 million on meat, GHS 281 million on vegetables and an estimated GHS 184 million on poultry.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to assisting local industries in producing more import-substitute products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles, and others.
On the cedi depreciation, the minister underscored the need for all to support the government’s drive for import substitution, as that could lead to stabilisation of the cedi and commended the AGI for the continuous support of policies and initiatives that supported the local industries.
In his state address on the economic crisis on Sunday, 30 October 2022, President Nana Akufo-Addo said an anonymous WhatsApp audio that got circulated widely on social media platforms recently, did a lot of damage to the cedi.
“Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down,” he noted.
He explained: “The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market.”
“An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further”, he pointed out, adding: “All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation”.
The president urged: “Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is. To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.”
“Indeed, some steps have been taken to restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored.”
He said the following actions have been taken thus far: Enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules.
“Already some forex bureaux have had their licences revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector; fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand; the Bank of Ghana has given its full commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of the economy continue to run in a stabilised manner, till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in”.
Also, he said: “The government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme. I am confident that these immediate measures designed to change the structure of our balance of payment flows, sanitise the foreign exchange market to ensure that the banks and forex bureaus operate along international best practices, together with strengthened supervision, will go a long way to sanitize our foreign exchange market, and make it more resilient against external vulnerabilities going forward”.
Economist, Professor Lord Mensah, has said the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta must resign for a new person to take over the management of the economy.
According to him, the Finance Minister is trying to dissociate the economic dynamics from its management adding that what Mr. Ofori-Atta is doing is not real and it doesn’t happen anywhere.
The Economist explained that economic management goes with economic dynamics.
“Obviously it has to do with management so if the entire population is calling for his head. It sends the signal that what is on the grounds is not good. So for him to say that we should focus on the IMF and possibly restore the economy it’s uncalled for.
“For me his understanding of the management and influence of economic dynamics, he should understand that the economy is not on autopilot, the economy must be managed. If at the end of the day those that are supposed to feel the impact of the economy are saying that things are not going well with them that he should resign, he has to. He is not the one to come and explain and tell us that we have to focus on how we can restore the economy,” Prof. Mensah told Starr News.
He further stated that a new hand can give Ghanaians breathing space.
“I think his resignation will bring about some confidence to the economy and as a result of that maybe the economy will head in the right direction. Trust me you cannot dissociate human thinking when it comes to economic dynamics from the real numbers that are on the ground. We are waiting for him to resign so that we can have breathing space. As we speak now his presence as a Finance Minister has brought about a whole lot of uncertainty in the economy.
“People cannot even plan, investors cannot even look ahead and look at the next moment. As we speak now there are so many things going on at the back side of the economy that we don’t even know.”
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the fight against HIV/AIDS have expressed concern over the inactivation of the National HIV/ AIDS fund six years after it was passed into law.
According to them, the inactivation of the fund was partly to blame for stalled progress and disruption in gains made towards the HIV/AIDS fight in Ghana, over the years.
Thus, in the face of dwindling donor funding to the area, the CSOs have appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency, activate the fund in its 2023 budget.
They made the call in Accra at the launch of the 2022 World HIV/ AIDS day on the theme; “Equalise; a call to action, a forceful appeal to the government, civil society, private sector, and individuals to work together to remove all inequalities that perpetuate the spread of the HIV epidemic.”
President of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET), Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, in a remark, said the National HIV and AIDS fund was needed to preserve the lives of over 250,000 Ghanaians currently surviving on life-saving anti-retroviral (ART) drugs.
He stated that about eight percent (20,000) of this number were children and needed to be supported to remain on medications and realise their potential in life.
“According to the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) Act, 938 as amended in 2016, the only person who can activate the fund is the Minister of Finance.
I, therefore, wish to appeal to the Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, to unfailingly activate the fund in the 2023 budget which will be read exactly two weeks from today,” he stated.
Mr. Ortsin maintained that it was expected that the Global Fund which presently was a major donor for Ghana’s HIV/ AIDS interventions to withdraw its activities in view of new global interests, as such, “as a country, we need to take our destiny into our own hands.”
“This is why GHANET and all CSOs in health are calling on the President and the Minister of Finance to activate the fund as immediately as possible.”
The Director-General of the GAC, Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene disclosed that in the last five years, the country has averagely recorded 21,000 new HIV infections.
From January to June this year, Ghana had already crossed the average mark, recording 23,495 new HIV infections which are, two percent of 948,094 people who undertook HIV testing during the period.
The DG said high-risk behaviours, and complacency amidst disregard for preventive tools were contributing to the spread of the disease, urging members of the public to take responsibility for protecting themselves from HIV infection.
Currently, Ghana is doing 71-99-79 of the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target which aims to diagnose 95 percent of the HIV population, have 95 percent on anti-retrovirals, and 95 percent, achieving viral suppression of the disease.
Some Ghanaian celebrities and media personalities have waded into the ongoing discussion about some 80 MPs who have demanded the sacking of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
In the midst of the ongoing hardships in the country, there have been unanimous constant calls from citizens for the resignation of the economic gatekeepers, particularly the finance minister.
Interestingly, the latest to join the campaign are a host of NPP MPs in parliament.
The MPs in a rather interesting and unexpected event, held a press conference on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, to impress on the president to relieve his cousin of managing the national purse or risk losing their support for government businesses going forward.
They also want the Minister of State in charge of Finance at the Office of the President, Chares Adu Boahen, to be subjected to a similar fate.
“Notice is hereby served that until such persons as aforementioned are made to resign or removed from office, we members of the Majority caucus here in parliament will not participate in any business of government by or for the President [or] by any other minister. If our request is not responded to positively, we will not be present for the budget hearing, neither will we participate in the debate,” MP for Asante Akyem North, Mr. Appiah Kubi, read on behalf of his colleagues.
Responding to this development which has created some excitement on Twitter, scores of Ghanaians, including some celebrities have shared their opinions.
The likes of Nana Aba Anamoah, Bridget Otoo, Kwame A Plus, Lawyer Ntim, Ohemaa Woyeje, Kafui Dey and many others have shared their two cents on the issue.
In the case of Nana Aba Anamoah, who wrote an open letter to the finance minister asking him to throw in the towel, she said the majority MPs’ decision is a step in the right direction.
The majority caucus (NPP MPs) say they will not do any government business until Ken Ofori Atta is fired as Finance Minister. The frog is out of the water saying the crocodile is smelling. If President @NAkufoAddo doesn’t listen to this last call, then he’s worse than a dead goat
Efforts put in place by the government and the Bank of Ghana to arrest the free fall of the cedi against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar, are paying off.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, when he briefed the press on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
The cedi is currently struggling on the forex market as it is selling close to 10 cedis per dollar.
Ofori-Atta was hopeful the cedi will experience an appreciation in the coming days following the several measures introduced.
He further indicated that the Bank of Ghana has also introduced enhanced measures such as a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme to contain the depreciation of the cedi.
“As part of measures to shore up our reserves, improve exchange rate stability and address some of the funding needs, the Ministry successfully worked on a US$750 million Afreximbank loan facility which was received in August 2022. The traditional Cocoa Syndication Loan, expected in the last quarter of 2022 which will promote the cocoa sector, will further help us build our FX reserves and provide a strong buffer for the cedi in the last quarter of the year.”
“Additionally, the Bank of Ghana has introduced enhanced measures such as a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme to contain the depreciation of the cedi, which is now slowing down,” he added.
The economy is on a gradual upswing despite numerous shocks
Mr. Ofori-Atta also said Ghana’s economy is recording some marginal growth despite recent ravaging shocks.
“Overall, our growth outturn of 3.4% and 4.8% in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 respectively, coupled with modest improvements in our fiscal position, suggests our economy is gradually on the upswing despite the numerous shocks we have faced over the past two years,” he said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
“These figures demonstrate that in spite of recent challenges, there has been economic growth, modest as the gains so far may be,” the Finance Minister added.
Mr. Ofori-Atta said this progress gives Ghana a solid foundation to confront its economic challenges head-on.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta,has said that the government has spent about GH¢12.04 billion to contain the spread and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and properties.
Mr Ofori-Atta said the amount was expended between March 2020, when the pandemic struck Ghana, and May 2022.
He also dismissed concerns that there were inconsistencies in the COVID-19 expenditures, stating that whatever was mobilised and spent had been documented and well accounted for.
The minister was answering questions on how much Ghana mobilised in resources to fight the pandemic and how much was actually spent.
“I wish to dispel the notion that there have been some inconsistencies in government data on COVID-19,†he said, noting that the expenditure captured by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his earlier presentation to the nation was in tandem with records at the ministry.
He thus urged the public to dismiss the rumours on data inconsistencies, as the funds were prudently used to protect lives and mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the economy.
The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has called on the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to, “without delay, take steps as promised earlier by the President, in his New Year message, to pay, in full, monies owed thousands of individual Ghanaians and institutions as a result of the financial sector cleanup“.
“As a Council, we are willing and committed to mobilising and joining the masses on the streets to demand full payments of all locked-up funds of ordinary Ghanaians should government fail to address the issue in the shortest possible timeâ€.
In his Christmas message to Ghanaians last year, the President said customers of all the collapsed financial institutions banks, microfinance firms, savings & loans companies, finance houses and fund managers will have a full refund of their locked-up deposits and investments.
“Thus far, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana have worked together to guarantee payments of 100% of deposits of customers of the failed banks which is being doneâ€, the President announced, adding: “I have directed the Ministry of Finance to work with the Bank of Ghana to ensure that same applies to customers of microfinance and savings and loans companies whose licences have been revokedâ€.
The financial sector cleanup exercise saw the collapse of nine local banks, 347 microfinance companies, 23 savings & loans and finance houses, as well as 53 fund management companies.
Justifying the collapse of those firms, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “We have had to take painful but necessary measures to sanitise and save the banking system a process which I know has brought discomfort to many a householdâ€.
“It is worthy to note, however, that the jobs of some 6,500 workers were saved as a result, instead of the 10,000 that could have been lost, in addition to the protection of funds of 4.6 million depositorsâ€, the President added.
