News:
November 9, 2017
Minority in Parliament has served notice at a press conference that they will haul the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta before the house to explain why advice from the International Monitory Fund (IMF) was ignored.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority has said government caused financial lost to the state with the recent issuance of its Energy Sector Bond.
According to the ranking member on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson who addressed the media, the complex structure of the bond and unrealistic assumptions by the government caused what the Minority called the spectacular failure of the bond.
“The simple point is that, instead of them issuing a bond called plain vanilla, they decided to use this complex structure that has caused the taxpayer some 200 basis points,” Mr. Ato Forson stated.
The 200 basis marks about 2 percent of the GH 6 billion sought, amounting to about GHc1.2 million, which he noted “can help the government to finance the Free SHS that they are struggling to settle.
Mr. Ato Forson insisted that, the government could have saved the aforementioned 200 basis points “if they had gone to the financial market on the strength of government of Ghana ratings, rather than the ESLA PLC which is unrated and unknown.”
“Government delegation had woefully caused financial loss to the state as a result of their gross incompetence.
Because of someone’s gross incompetence, the state is losing GH 1.2 billion over a ten year period.
It is, for what he called, “this reckless conduct” and “gross disrespect for the constitution” that the Minority is requesting the Finance Minister be hurled before Parliament.
By Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com