[ 2016-05-13 ]

$250m transfer is a financial atrocity - Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate
for Ofoase Ayeribi says Finance Minster, Seth
Terkper committed a financial atrocity against
Ghana when he transferred $250 million from the
Central Bank to a commercial bank.

Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said there was no viable
explanation for the decision which he said has
imposed a huge cost on the nation.

He was analysing the transfer of part of a
$1billion Eurobond proceeds from the Bank of Ghana
(BoG) to United Bank for Africa (UBA) on JOYNEWS'
political discussion programme, Minority Caucus
which also had investment guru, Yoofi Grant on the
panel.

The issue appears to have become a hot potato for
the Finance Minister who has come under intense
pressure to provide a more convincing explanation
for the action.

A press conference followed by the release of a
press statement have so far proven insufficient to
douse the raging debate over the issue.

The $250 million was set aside for the Ghana
Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) but had to
be transferred to UBA because the GIIF was not yet
ready.

The opposition NPP wants a number of questions
answered - when was the money given to the Ghana
Infrastructural Investment Fund? When did the
Fund's Committee meet to agree on where the money
must be transferred and what were the competing
bids?

NPP vice-presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia last week at a forum at the Accra
polytechnic speaking on unemployment talked about
how actions of government have not inured to the
benefit of Ghanaians.

The former Deputy Governor of BoG bemoaned how
this contributes to the unemployment woes of the
youth in the country.

He revealed how some $250 million from the
Eurobond meant to be seed capital for the GIIF was
moved to UBA only for government go back and
borrow it.

Journalist-turned-politician, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
said Ghana would have continued to bleed
financially had Dr. Bawumia not disclosed it.

He described as rash, the swiftness with which
government communicators attack Dr. Bawumia and
call him names whenever he raises issues about the
financial management of the government.

He advised his political opponents to stick to
facts when issues as this come up and not try to,
“bastardize it to make it look like someone does
not understand.”

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah recounted discussions about the
GIIF at a meeting at Movenpick in Accra with
Sanusi Lamido, then Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria and the veep Paa Kwesi Amissah in
attendance.

He said Sanusi told the government the GIIF idea
won't work because the taxpayer was already paying
for infrastructural development without any need
for another bureaucratic body. That advice, he
believes, was ignored, creating the current
problems.

Contributing to the discussion, an investment
banker, Yoofi Grant said he found it bizarre that
in an era where teachers and nurses are going on
strike, people are screaming of government bills
not being paid, contractors complaining about not
being paid for work done etc government had
‘idle’ funds sitting in the BoG.

He questioned the rationale behind what he
describes as ‘double jeopardy’ of government
taking money for supposed development when in
actual sense government knew there is an interest
accruing on the money it does not need and yet it
went ahead to borrow it.

He added that the GIIF was supposed to source its
own funds and not rely on government.

Source - Myjoyonline.com

... go Back