Ofori-Atta will go down in history as the only Finance Minister to lead a bankrupt Ghana – Pianim
Renowned economist, Mr. Kwame Pianim has criticized the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta for the manner and manner in which he is managing the economy.
In his view, measures including the debt exchange program provided by the Minister of Finance, clearly show that the economy is in bankruptcy.
Mr. Pianim spoke in an interview with Paa Kwesi Asare TV3 about the domestic debt exchange program.
The government announced that in a program that has met with strong resistance from most Ghanaians including members of the Individual Bond Holders Forum (IBF), individual bond holders must submit a “voluntary” arrangement to exchange their domestic bonds for new benchmark bonds.
Mr. Pianim who is also the founding father of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said “For this government to allow Ken Ofori-Atta to sit in front of Ghanaians to make this proposal…
“If Ken is real, when the Attorney General comes with a legal opinion, which in the Commonwealth has the power of a high court order, he will take this document and go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). legal, not constitutional.
He added, “…Ken Ofori-Atta said, let’s do this program but it’s not well thought out, it’s not well thought out. This exchange program is like a time bomb that Ken has put in this economy. For the next 30 to 40 years, we will suffer.This is a ticking time bomb because they are taking billions of Cedis out of this economy.
“Government instruments, T-Bills and government bonds are risk-free, so insurance companies and banks are required not to invest because they are risk-free.
“Ken Ofori-Atta has a reputation that cannot be denied in our history as the man who made government bonds risk-free. He will go down as the only Minister of Finance to bankrupt this country. That’s where we are.”
Meanwhile, the Convener of the Individual Bondholders Forum (IBF) Senyo Hosi, has also said about the domestic debt exchange program that in an unfortunate oppressive fashion, the government has shown total disregard for the contractual rights of individual bondholders and has not made any effort to structure it. reasonable consultation with individual bondholders.
In the process, the IBF said, Ghanaians have been presented with a very difficult, impoverished and unsustainable choice – a disturbing and untenable situation.
“This is only possible because there is no effective representation and it is easy to oppress the scattered sections of investors to submit,” said Hosi.
The Government of Ghana (GoG) has announced that under the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme, individual bondholders must submit a “voluntary” agreement to exchange their domestic bonds for the new benchmark bonds.
This arrangement, according to the IBF, irrevocably takes away the wealth and livelihood of direct and indirect bondholders whose only crime is trusting their government.
Linked to this is a mandatory deadline that forces holders to accept the government’s offer or risk the threat of costly losses, the Forum added.
He asserted, “In an oppressive and unpleasant manner, the government has ignored the contractual rights of individual bondholders and has not sought adequate consultation with individual bondholders. In the process, we have been presented with a very difficult, impoverished and unsustainable choice – a situation that disturbing and unworkable.This is only possible because there is no effective representation and it is easy to oppress the scattered sections of investors into submission.
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
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