The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Mahama Ayariga has parried claims the minority’s crusade for full disclosure in the 2.25 billion dollars bond saga will negatively affect Ghana’s economy.
The Minority has accused the government of wrong doing in the transaction blaming the finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta of conflict of interest and insider trading.
The NDC MPs argue Franklin Templeton Investment limited which acquired about 95% of the domestic bond has a direct relationship with Enterprise Group; a company Mr. Ofori-Atta has interest in.
Parliament has summoned the Finance Minister to appear before the house with full details on the bond issuance.
The invitation is at the behest of the minority who through its leader Haruna Iddrisu moved a half-hour motion in parliament. The motion which was carried after support from his counterpart the majority leader has given the minister 7 days to brief the house.
Some financial analysts have warned the minority’s crusade will affect investor confidence which will result in lower returns in future bond issuance.
President of the Ghana Bankers Association, Alhassan Andani, has said the implication of the bond controversy could be dire for the economy.
“My caution is that once a nation decides to play from the international capital market, we have to be sure that the participants and the people we are going to tap for resources on those international capital markets are very monstrous company.”
“They are huge companies with wide international reputations and therefore we have to be extremely careful if we are making any comment that’s going to impugn wrongdoing to especially the people we will go to, to raise capital at any point in time” he cautioned.
The Managing Director for Stanbic Bank Ghana added players in the international bond market will go to every length to protect their credibility.
“And in truth it is a party-insensitive…. It is about country reputation so those of us who report on these transactions let’s make sure that we are well informed. Otherwise if we just touch these people they will give anything up for their reputation and therefore we should be very careful the kind of commentary we are running around.”
However, speaking to Starr News’ Parliamentary Correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan, Mahama Ayariga refuted such assertions stating the crusade of the minority will do exactly opposite what the analysts are positing. According to him the quest for more transparency in the deal will rather engender confidence in the investor community.
“I don’t think so. I think that it will rather strengthen the credentials of the country and make people who deal with us more confident that no wrongdoing will be tolerated by the people of this country that full accountability will be required of the leaders that act on our behalf when they as private investors engage with them.”
The former sports minister believes he and his colleagues are seeking the best interest of the nation in their crusade.
“And so it will rather strengthen us, it will make us more respected out there and it will make people who deal with anything that has anything to do with Ghana more careful in what they do with our representatives but then also more confident that the outcome of whatever they do will be respected if it’s done in accordance with law.”
The matter is also currently before the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) after a petition by an NDC member Brogya Gyamfi. The minority has also petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States to investigate Franklin Templeton Company Limited in the acquisition of the bonds.
