For the first time, he rallied behind a demand from the world’s poorest countries to triple finance to help them adapt to more extreme weather and rising seas to $120 billion a year by 2030.

Addressing the COP30 Climate Change talks in Belem, Brazil, he noted that communities on the frontlines are watching the UN summit for action.

“Counting flooded homes, failed harvests, lost livelihoods and asking ‘how much more must we suffer?’… they have heard enough excuses, they demand results,” he stated.

For Mr. Guterres, “tripling adaptation finance by 2030 is essential.” He believes it is also possible and desirable and he hoped developed countries would accept to engage in this objective at COP30 if their concerns on emissions reductions are addressed.

The Africa Day at COP30 was marked under the theme: “Africa at the Forefront of Climate Action: Sustainable Financing for Resilient and Inclusive Green Growth”, reaffirming the continent’s united call for a new era of climate finance that delivers for people, planet, and prosperity.

Discussions focused on mobilizing sustainable, equitable, and innovative finance to accelerate Africa’s green industrialization. Leaders highlighted that Africa’s future lies in leveraging its abundant natural resources for value addition and local manufacturing from processing critical minerals to scaling renewable energy solutions.

“Africa already stands at the forefront of global climate action, shaping solutions that are both locally grounded and globally relevant”, said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth of the African Development Bank Group.

For decades, Africa’s climate narrative has been defined by contradiction. The continent hosts 20% of the world’s carbon sinks and contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet receives under 10% of adaptation finance and only 3% of total climate funding, this shortfall carries existential consequences.

Developed countries have repeatedly failed to honour their financing commitments, and Africa’s adaptation needs continue to outpace the resources available.

The commitment of developed countries to double adaptation finance to at least $40 billion by 2025 already slipping away.

The latest estimate of developing countries’ annual climate adaptation needs for 2035 outstrips current funding by at least 12 times, with rich nations providing just $26 billion in 2023, according to the annual UN Adaptation Gap Report.

If current trends continue, developed countries are set to miss the 2025 target that they committed to at COP26 four years ago, UNEP’s report said.

As COP30 entered its final stretch, African Non-State Actors on climate justice, under the umbrella of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, called for “an outcome that protects our societies and economies, strengthens resilience, and advances a fair and development-centred global transition”.

The group demanded for more than triple adaptation finance by 2030, with a clear public-finance pathway, and “a fully capitalised fund for responding to Loss and Damage with new, additional, predictable finance, and as a guarantee mobilized from public sources”.

Africa CSOs are seeking a fast-track support for resilient agriculture, water and health systems, coastal protection, and community adaptation complimented with early warning systems.

“For millions, adaptation is not an abstract goal. It is the difference between rebuilding and being swept away, between replanting and starving, between staying on ancestral lands or losing it forever,” said António Guterres.

The UN chief has urged wealthy governments, climate funds and development banks to step up and prevent further tragedies.

“It’s about survival, it’s about justice – and for Indigenous peoples, it is also about protecting cultures and homelands that sustain our planet’s vital ecosystems,” he noted.

He says it is the responsibility on big emitters to do more while ramping up emissions-cutting efforts.

Source: Kofi Adu Domfeh

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN), Dr. Richard Muyungi, says COP30 must deliver “ambitious, balanced, fair and just outcomes across adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, and climate finance,” emphasizing that negotiations must be anchored in the latest science and the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR–RC).

He warned that despite contributing less than 4% of global emissions, Africa faces rapidly intensifying climate impacts and requires outcomes that reflect its “special needs, developmental context, and heightened vulnerability.”

The negotiators called for a clear alignment between financing flows and the ambition reflected in countries’ next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0).

Key demands include concrete steps to operationalise US$1.3 trillion annually by 2030 and the US$300 billion climate finance goal.

This year’s global climate summit kicked off in the Amazonian city of Belém in Brazil, amid a warning from United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, that the world is not doing enough to combat the crisis, and strategic compromises over the elements of the official agenda of the summit.

At the opening plenary, the UN climate chief said the world is not moving fast enough to confront the climate crisis but was quick to note that global cooperation had at least prevented “an impossible future” of runaway heating.

“We have so much more work to do. We must move much, much faster; both in reducing emissions and in strengthening resilience,” he told delegates.

Stiell credited the Paris Agreement, adopted 10 years ago, with bending the curve of projected global heating from as high as 5°C to below 3°C, saying “it is still perilous, but it proves that climate cooperation works”.

He said success now depends on two interlinked pillars: stronger, more credible national climate plans, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); and the financing to make them possible.

“Plans without finance cannot reach their full potential,” he said.

Finance is the great accelerator

Stiell pointed to the Baku to Belém Roadmap, a new initiative that seeks to increase global climate finance from about US$300 billion a year to US$1.3 trillion by 2035, describing it as a shared investment in “stability and prosperity” and noting that countries acting fastest on clean energy would reap the greatest economic benefits.

“Every dollar invested in climate solutions brings multiple dividends; jobs, cleaner air, better health, resilient supply chains, and stronger energy and food security,” he said.

Supporters hailed the roadmap as an ambitious but necessary step to close the gap between climate pledges and real-world funding.

Brazil, hosting COP30 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described the roadmap as “a blueprint for collective resolve.” The Brazilian delegation urged negotiators to focus on fairness and delivery rather than rhetoric.

“The science is clear, the moral imperative undeniable. What remains is the resolve,” they said.

Mohamed Adow, founder and director, Power Shift Africa, said: “COP30 must deliver the priorities for Africa and the wider developing world which are clear: we need a fair deal that delivers finance for adaptation in vulnerable countries and supports a just transition to renewable energy.

“These are not acts of charity, but investments in a stable, liveable planet. We need to see the sharing of clean energy technology by the global north with the global south, and we need to see more national climate plans published by all countries, laying out how we’re going to accelerate the momentum towards a safe and prosperous planet for us all.”

Over the next two weeks, the COP30 Presidency is understood to be positioning the summit as a political reckoning that will test whether the Paris Agreement, the crown jewel of international climate diplomacy, can still deliver results at scale.

Growing fatigue in climate process

Since 2015, global emissions have plateaued but not fallen fast enough. The 1.5°C target, the threshold scientists warn the world must stay below to avoid catastrophic consequences, is slipping out of reach.

The Belém conference comes amid growing fatigue and distrust in the global climate process, particularly over financing and equity. The Baku to Belém Roadmap aims to restore faith by setting a long-term financing goal, but key questions remain unanswered: who pays, how much, and under what terms.

Omar Elmawi, Convenor of the Africa Movement of Movements, noted: “We cannot keep sailing blindly into a climate apocalypse while pretending everything is merry. COP30 must be the turning point, where words become action, and promises become justice. Over eight billion people globally are looking at Belém to be the moment we will all look back to and celebrate and not one we curse.”

For Africa, COP30 is a moment of reckoning. The continent contributes less than 4 per cent of global emissions but bears the heaviest costs of climate change, from droughts and cyclones to collapsing agricultural yields and energy insecurity.

African negotiators have consistently argued that without predictable, affordable finance, developing nations cannot deliver on their commitments. The Baku to Belém Roadmap could be transformative if implemented fairly, ensuring that new funds reach life-saving adaptation projects in vulnerable communities, not just emissions reductions in middle-income economies.

African countries are also demanding a rebalancing of the climate finance equation to include more grants, fewer debt-driven instruments, and direct access for local governments and institutions.

The hope is that the roadmap will address long-standing inequalities that have left Africa sidelined when it comes to green investment.

Source: Kofi Adu Domfeh

He made this statement on Monday, 13 January, during his vetting before the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

“We intend to reduce depreciation to 8% in the shortest time,” Dr. Forson said.

He explained that achieving this target would require implementing a comprehensive strategy to stabilise the economy and restore confidence in the local currency.

Dr. Forson outlined several measures to address the issue, including enhancing foreign exchange reserves, boosting export revenues, and curbing unnecessary imports.

According to him, these interventions would not only reduce depreciation but also improve the overall economic outlook.

The Finance Minister-designate emphasised his commitment to addressing the root causes of currency instability.

He assured the Committee of his readiness to work with stakeholders to create a sustainable economic environment that promotes growth and benefits all Ghanaians.

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Concrete blocks that barely hold together are used to create a small balcony in front of the single bedroom.

For health reasons, she had to give up street hawking which became the alternative after the collapse of her khebab business.

She has since found it difficult to feed herself and children.

“After losing my fingers, people will not buy from me so I had to leave the food business. I sometimes go three days without food. I fell ill due to that. All I am able to do is to turn to God for help”, Paulina narrated.

A khebab business that kept a family afloat came tumbling after the owner lost some fingers two decades ago.

Patrons of Paulina Birago’s khebab business shunned her, maybe because of the disability suffered in the accident.

She has since been rendered jobless after the accidents made her frail for hawking and other physically demanding job opportunities that came her way.

Paulina Birago lives in a family home at Esaase in the Ashanti Region. Though the house has electricity, her room remains dark due to her inability to buy a new bulb to replace the worn out one.

The poorly ventilated room has just an old mattress, a dirty looking trunk sitting on a table and some shoes stuck under a table.

According to her, the room floods whenever it rains; the roof leaks badly. Renovation of the room is far-fetched, feeding at least once a day remains the priority.

“I live in harsh conditions. Things are tough, the whole community can testify how comfortable I lived when I was in employment. Now, renovating my room is not much of my concern but where to get my daily meal is my worry”, she said.

According to the latest unemployment data by the Ghana Statistical Service, about two out of ten women are unemployed.

The statistics from the third quarter of 2023 further indicates about 8 out of 10 females are vulnerably employed.

Paulina has managed to switch jobs after her accident, but she could barely last in any since her health has remained unstable.

Her children couldn’t get the needed education since she barely could raise money to keep them in school.

Her daughter, Patricia Dankwah is now a teenage mother.

“After the BECE, she had a school. At the time, I was very ill so she took care of me. I couldn’t provide food for both of us, so she was the one helping with all that. Through that she was impregnated”, Paulina confessed.

Efforts to obtain disability support from the District Assembly Common Fund have proven futile.

Political party promises

Few days to the 2024 general elections, the New Patriotic Party is promising the implementation of the Women’s Trade Endowment Fund to provide loans and grants for female businesses.

The opposition National Democratic Congress presents a similar alternative, proposing the establishment of a Women’s Development Bank as a special-purpose bank to support women-owned and women-led businesses with low-interest loans.

Gender Financing Expert, Sarah Annam supports the approach of both parties, but the mode of implementation should be reconsidered.

“We are moving in the right direction, looking at women businesses critically because its ripple effect is significant. I will prefer that the government will rather set up the policy or create a revolving fund that sit with the Central Bank to give these funds to financial institutions to lend the money to the women at cheaper rates”, she said.

Mrs. Annam further emphasized, “if the government sets up the agency to grant the benefits then the assurance of giving the funds to the women that needs it becomes questionable.”

The implementation of the manifesto promises has the potential of improving the unemployment rate among women in the country.

Perhaps, women like Paulina Birago could find solace in the successful implementation of such a women manifesto.

The African Future Policies Hub has released a report highlighting the key challenges and opportunities facing African nations in the global financial system and climate finance landscape.

“The assessment shows little to no progress is being made on addressing the continent’s debt concerns, high cost of borrowing, and actual disbursements against financial commitments and pledges−putting into question transparency and accountability frameworks in the financing ecosystem,” said Maria Nkhonjera, Senior Policy Lead (Public Finance), African Future Policies Hub.

The report, titled “Assessing Progress Towards Reforming the Global Financial Architecture: An African Perspective,” outlines the urgent need for reforms to address imbalances in the IMF quota system, increase climate finance flows to Africa, and enhance the effectiveness of multilateral development banks.

“As we head to COP29 where financing decisions will be taken, it is important to also take stock of progress on the reforms that are said to help us generate the trillions of funding needed to finance climate action in developing countries,” noted Faten Aggad at the African Future Policies Hub. “Despite positive developments, there is clearly significant work that is still needed especially reforms requested by African countries based on their realities.”

Here are key findings of the report:

Enhanced African Influence: The African Union’s admission to the G20 and the appointment of a third sub-Saharan African representative to the IMF executive board has strengthened African representation in global financial infrastructure reforms.

Unresolved Quota imbalances: The IMF’s quota system remains heavily skewed in favour of developed economies, with African nations holding a disproportionately small share.

Mixed Progress on Climate Finance: While advancements have been made in loss and damage mechanisms, commitments to adaptation finance and the delivery of climate finance commitments remain insufficient.

Multilateral Development Bank Reforms: MDB’s have initiated comprehensive reforms, but implementation has been uneven. A number of Africa’s priorities are yet to be operationalised, including the re-channeling of SDRs through the African Development Bank.

Capital Efficiency and Country Engagement: Progress in enhancing capital efficiency and transforming country engagement has been limited.

IDA Replenishment: African heads of state have called for a US$120 billion replenishment of the International Development Association, but major donors and World Bank management are only considering a US$105 billion benchmark.

G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment: The G20 Common Framework remains unreformed, with limited progress in addressing high borrowing costs and lengthy debt resolution.

UN Tax Convention: Significant progress has been made towards establishing a legally binding UN tax convention, which could help address tax avoidance and evasion.

Global Climate Tax Standards and Trade Measures: There has been progress in advancing global climate taxes, but no progress on addressing unilateral climate-related trade measures.

Transparency in Climate Finance: Concerns remain over the transparency of “new and additional” climate finance, hindering effective climate action and resource allocation.

Debt-for-Climate and Nature Swaps: The use of debt-for-climate and nature swaps holds promise but has been limited in Africa.

New Collective Quantified Goal: African negotiators have called for the NCQG to be based on a needs-driven approach to address countries’ significant financial needs for climate adaptation and mitigation.

Official Development Assistance: The UN has set a target for developed countries to allocate 0.7% of their Gross National Income to ODA, but funding levels have been declining.

The report calls for continuous political pressure on global financial leaders and targeted advocacy efforts to drive progress in the reform of the international financial system.

“Reforming the global financial architecture means many things, but from an African perspective, especially responding to the UNFCCC process, it appears clear that progress remains critically insufficient until and unless we see significant new and additional international provision of grant-equivalent finance to developing countries, on the scale of the hundreds of billions required, respectively, to equitably address mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage needs,” stated Iskander Erzini Vernoit, Imal Initiative for Climate and Development.

Upcoming negotiations offer a crucial opportunity for Africa to articulate its position and advocate for a system that truly supports its transformation and development goals.

Source: Kofi Adu Domfeh

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The Institute noted that the current challenges in the sector were mainly due to inadequate liquidity in procuring fuel for some power plants to operate to full capacity and said the two Ministries must fix it. 

It also reiterated the call for the government to resource ECG to bring down its technical and commercial losses, deploy more smart metres capable of detecting theft, and have an efficient distribution system to rake in more revenue. 

Doing so would help in fulfilling ECG’s mission of providing quality, reliable and safe electricity services to support the economic growth and development of Ghana, IES noted. 

The Institute’s recommendation is on the heels of recent sanctions by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for various regulatory breaches. 

Speaking with the Ghana News Agency on the matter, Nana Amoasi VII, Executive Director, IES, said the liquidity challenges had resulted in effective maintenance of some of the plants, as scheduled, leading to the outages. 

“We expect the Ministry of Energy to coordinate and work with the Ministry of Finance to find alternative funding sources to deal with the challenge, thus, to procure fuel to get some of the power plants online,” Nana Amoasi VII said. 

On the regulatory sanctions, he said the action by PURC was necessary to send a signal to other service providers of the readiness of the Regulator to bite anyone who went contrary to the rules of engagement in the sector. 

“The current action is consistent with the oversight responsibility that PURC must have over the industry,” he said and encouraged ECG to oblige with the orders of the Regulator.  

Nana Amoasi also urged the Regulator to carry out any other sanction against ECG should it fail to honour the April 22 payment to PURC and the April 30 payment to cash waterfall mechanism beneficiaries. 

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission ordered the Management and Board of ECG to pay GHS446,283,706.29 before or by April 30, 2024 to ‘Category B’ beneficiaries of the cash waterfall mechanism.  

This comes after ECG failed to pay shortfalls from August 2023 to February 2024 to beneficiaries by March 25, 2024. 

For failure to submit details of all bank accounts to the Commission, PURC imposed an initial regulatory charge of 3,000 penalty units on ECG amounting GHS36,000, which is to be paid by April 22, 2024. 

Mr Ishmael Edjekumhene, a Commissioner with PURC, on Wednesday, told GNA that they were yet to receive any update on any action taken by ECG on payment or negotiations on the sanctions. 

Last month, Mr Sam Dubik Mahama, Managing Director, ECG, highlighted the need for consumers to promptly pay their bills to increase revenue and enhance the Company’s operational efficiency. 

Meanwhile, the Energy Commission in its 2024 Energy Outlook for Ghana, highlighted the need for critical investment for the energy and electricity sub-sector, particularly, improved gas supply reliability, owing to the increasing dependency on natural gas for power generation. 

“The government should expedite action on the proposed construction of gas pipeline connecting Tema and Tarkoradi power enclaves,” the Commission recommended. 

The Commission noted that the security and adequacy of fuel supply to thermal plants remained the single most important risk to power supply reliability in the country. 

“In this regard, it is strongly recommended that all stakeholders work together to ensure that the fuel supply is adequate and secure at all times,” the Energy Commission stated in its report. 

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She stressed the importance of enhanced cooperation among state agencies, especially those at the port to effectively tackle any potential revenue leakages without adversely affecting businesses.

She made these comments when senior officials led by the Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adams, paid a working visit to the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority on Monday, March 25, 2024.

“We cannot afford to record any spillages in this election year so we are going to do whatever we have to do to bring in the revenue and then also control our expenditure to help us meet the fiscal targets that we have set for ourselves and that is what we are going to do.

“We are going to work directly with customs and I cherish this collaboration and I hope and pray this collaboration will be strengthened,” the Minister of State-designate said.

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California has an estimated two million immigrants living in the state without documents.

They are not eligible for the $2.2-trillion stimulus package approved by Congress last month, which gives cash payments to most Americans plus boosts unemployment benefits by $600 per week. 

“We feel a deep sense of gratitude for people that are in fear of deportations that are still addressing essential needs of tens of millions of Californians,” said Newsom, who noted 10 percent of the state’s workforce are undocumented immigrants who paid more than $2.5bn in state and local taxes last year.

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Taxpayers are kicking in $75m for the money, while a group of charities has committed to raising another $50m for a total of $125m. A group of charities has already donated $5.5m for the fund, including the Emerson Collective, Blue Shield of California Foundation, the California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and an anonymous donor. 

Newsom said the money will not be distributed based on income. “Their personal information will not be required to get those support,” he said.

California has been the most aggressive state in the nation when it comes to giving benefits to undocumented immigrants. Last year, California became the first state to give taxpayer-funded health benefits to low-income adults 25 and younger living in the country irregularly. This year, Newsom had proposed expanding those benefits to seniors 65 and older.

Mr Ofori-Atta made this assertion on Accra based Peace FM, monitored by Adomonline.com.

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The Finance Minister assured Ghanaians that the government will ensure it doesn’t spend more than it ought to in 2020.

“We will hold the line with regards to election excess spending, the history is that those that overspend election year don’t usually come back,” he remarked.

He further said the government had come a long way in putting the economy on the right track and maintaining fiscal discipline, and was not going to allow excess spending during the election year derail what had been achieved so far.

“We’ve put steady hands on the economy, we’ve been able to come out of International Monetary Fund, as well as put the financial sector in a good state and fixed most of the mess. All are indications that things have gone really well,” he said.

Source: Adomonline.com | Fuaad Dodoo

According to the singer, there had been no graduate in her family because there was no money to take anyone to school.

“Through my ministry, I was able to raise money to look after my younger ones. No one has been able to go to secondary school but he went to university, now he is a graduate working somewhere and the other is now a lecturer at the Pentecost University,” she told Joy News’ MzGee in an interview.

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Cindy Thompson explained that she felt proud seeing a graduate in her house, adding that “that alone pushes me to love God all the more because there’s more he can do.”

The singer said she did not imagine for a second while growing up, that music would bring her this far.

“I never taught that I could be a musician, I loved to sing from my childhood so I never knew music would take me this far, never. I was eager to further my education to be somebody so I can take care of my younger ones,” Cindy Thompson added.

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She said that she was focused on becoming a secretary, get a job and cater for her other siblings.

“I educated myself, others helped me by paying my fees and the ones my parents can, they would do. The ones they cannot, I have to seek help, so for me being here, in fact, it is the grace of God,” she added.

Watch the full interview below:

Source: myjoyonline.com

The BoG on Friday revoked the licences of twenty-three insolvent savings and loans companies and finance house companies in the country.

According to a statement from BoG, “The revocation of the licences of these institutions has become necessary because they are insolvent even after a reasonable period within which the Bank of Ghana has engaged with them in the hope that they would be recapitalized by their shareholders to return them to solvency.”

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Check the full list of the Savings and Loans companies in good standing below:

1. ABii National Savings and Loans Ltd
2. Adehyeman Savings and Loans Company Ltd.
3. Advans Ghana Savings and Loans Ltd.
4. Asa Savings and Loans Company Ltd.
5. Assurance Savings and Loans Ltd.
6. Bond Savings and Loans Ltd.
7. Best Point Savings and Loans Ltd.
8. Bayport Savings and Loans Plc.
9. Direct Savings and Loans Ltd.
10. Equity Savings and Loans Ltd.
11. Golden Link Savings & Loans Ltd.
12. Golden Pride Savings and Loans Ltd.
13. Izwe Savings and Loans Ltd.
14. Jins Savings and Loans Ltd.
15. Letshego Ghana Savings and Loans Plc
16. Multi Credit Savings & Loans Co. Ltd.
17. Opportunity International Savings and Loans Co. Ltd.
18. Pacific Savings & Loans Co. Ltd.
19. Pan-African Savings and Loans Company Ltd.
20. Progress Savings and Loans Ltd.
21. Services Integrity Savings and Loans Ltd.
22. SIC Life Savings and Loans Ltd.
23. Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans Company Ltd.
24. The Seed Funds Savings and Loans Ltd.
25. Utrak Savings and Loans Ltd.

Source: Joy Business

Mr Ofori-Atta told parliament on Thursday that the NPP government inherited an economy in distress after the 2016 general elections but prudently utilized the limited resources over the last 18 months to stabilize the economy.

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“We have prudently utilised the very limited resources over the last 18 months to stabilize the economy and ease the people’s burden, which has resulted in real money in their pockets,” he said.

“On the socio-economic front, the Akufo Addo government has eased the burdens of Ghanaians and has invested in the education of our children”.

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He said government managed to bring the IMF back on track after taking over in 2017, explaining that after one year, the IMF said growth had rebounded and fiscal deficit had declined.

“Government inherited an economy in distress after the 2016 general elections but we managed to bring the IMF program back on track after a year in office.

“The government managed to bring the IMF programme back on track. After one year, the IMF said growth had rebounded and fiscal deficit had declined”, he noted.

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According to the Finance Minister, despite the strong fundamentals, the country has seen the cedi come under pressure primarily due to external factors but added that the performance of the cedi in the last 18 months under the Akufo-Addo government has been impressive.

1. a) General

First, we note that CHRAJ relied heavily on FT’s website to come to its conclusions. We believe that a better option would have been the US and EU official securities bodies (e.g., US Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC) since another petition is pending before these bodies. Second, it is important to put the pieces together at this stage in order to take that broader view of the appearance of conflict of interest in dealing with Enterprise and Databank Groups. As noted, several ex-officials (or current?) of Enterprise or Databank Group are now deeply involved in Government business, including Bond issuances.

1. b) Databank/Enterprise employees

It is now known that the Hon. Minister has about 16 ex-Databank/Enterprise employees who are firmly embedded in the Ministry of Finance and some of its agencies. Have all these officials resigned formally from their substantive posts in these private firms and do they intend to revert to post after they leave Government?
Of immediate relevance: were they involved in the Bond issuance since we are told in the CHRAJ report that some of the JBR/PDs, acting for the Ministry, issued an invitation to Enterprise/Databank? Were they beneficiaries of the communication that went out to some investors prior to the official release?  We are not told whether CHRAJ interviewed any of these staff, some of who we are told are in Director Positions at MOF.

1. c) The Sanlam Group transaction

Third, we noted some months back that, shortly after the Bond issues in March 2017—June 2017, to be precise—Sanlam Group of South Africa sold its insurance interest in Enterprise Group to Black Star Holdings Ltd. We are told in the Statement relating to the transaction that Sanlam will continue to have a presence in Ghana. We already know the involvement of the Hon. Minister in Enterprise, so we will not belabour the point.
However, we also know that a Deputy Minister of Finance had or has interests in Black Star Holding Ltd, also related to Leapfrog, another firm mentioned in the Statement. The Statement emphatically describes and quotes Trevor Tregfarne (of FT fame) as the Chairman of Enterprise Group. Further, no less a person than Mr. Keli Gadzekpo, then CEO of Enterprise Group and current Member of the Board of Bank of Ghana (BOG) was the one touting the deal on public media.
Does Mr. Gadzekpo recuse himself from government business involving the Enterprise and Databank Groups? This question is also relevant for the 16 or so Databank staff that the Minister has placed in strategic positions at the Ministry of Finance and its agencies.
CONCLUSIONS.

1. a) Minister must resign

It is our contention that based on these willful breaches of  Ghanaian law, guidelines and processes in the bond issuance, the Finance Minister has made his continuous stay in office untenable and we hereby demand his immediate resignation or dismissal and subsequent prosecution.

1. b) Violation of CHRAJ Law

This would also be without prejudice to any other actions that can be taken pursuant to relevant sections of Act 550 which provide for a compliant to be made to CHRAJ in respect of violations of the Assets Declaration law.
We hope that despite President AkufoAddo’s practice of extreme nepotism and cronyism through the appointment of dozens of his family members, friends and known business associates into government, he would not allow familial considerations to hinder the performance of his sacred duty to the people of Ghana.
Rather, he will take appropriate action to ensure that his cousin and Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, faces the full rigors of the law.
Failure to do this would completely invalidate his claims about fighting corruption.
We wish to serve notice that in the event that President AkufoAddo allows his judgment to be clouded by his blood relations with the Finance Minister and refuses to act in accordance with theGhanaian law to remove him from office within 14 working days from today, we shall invoke a motion of censorship in accordance with article 82 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana to remove him from office as soon as possible.

1. c) Vindication

It is the considered view of the Minority that the adverse findings contained in the CHRAJ report vindicate our position that the US$ 2.25 Billion bond issuance was fraught with irregularities and did not comply with Ghanaian law.
We also demand that;
(a) the Government and its agencies (Flagstaff House, BOG, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Public Services Commission (PSC), Head of Civil Service (OHCS) etc.) must take steps to curtail or eliminate the grip of Enterprise and /Databank Groups on Government business;
(b) CHRAJ must continue to follow some of the leads we present in our Statements; and
(c) Parliament must revisit the issue of its mandate in relation to making public, all the terms and conditions for this particular Bond issuance to close the chapter on this matter. Otherwise, we should not be surprised that it will continue to fester, not die.
Hon Haruna Iddrisu
Minority Leader

Alhassan Andani, who is the CEO of Stanbic Bank, a leading universal bank, told the Economy Times that “I don‘t envisage any takeover, merger or acquisition should the Bank of Ghana announce a new minimum capital requirement.”

He said the banks are well prepared to meet the new minimum requirement anytime it will be announced.

“The banks are solid and adequately prepared to shore up their shareholders’ funds any time their statutory regulator, the Bank of Ghana announces the capital new requirement,” he said.

He said the banking industry is very solvent ready for the new capitalization program.

Total assets of the banking sector stood at GH¢86.72 billion as at end-June 2017, indicating a 30.8 percent growth from GH¢66.29 billion in June 2016 which was 13.2 percent year-on-year growth over the previous year.

The Banks’ domestic assets which constituted about 91 percent of the sector’s total assets as at end-June 2017 largely accounted for the increase in banks‘ total assets within the year.

Changes in banks‘ investment portfolio, a constituent of domestic assets, contributed the most to the increase in the sector‘s tot assets between June 2016 and June 2017, recording 54 percent growth from GH¢16.39 billion in June 2016  to GH¢25.39 billion in June 2017.

Net advances remained the largest component of bank assets constituting 36.5 percent of banks‘ assets in June 2017.

Its share, however, dropped from 43.1 percent in June 2016 with the difference largely picked up by investments, highlighting banks’ shifting preference for less risky financial assets.

According to the Minority, the law had been passed as far back in April, hence differing the implementation to another date is considered as contempt of Parliament.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, while filing the motion on Thursday, argued that the GRA and the Ministry of Finance cannot on their own suspend the implementation of a tax law duly passed by the Parliament and approved by the President.

“Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that this honourable House call on the Minister responsible for Finance to implement the value added tax amendment act 2017, Act 948 and suspend the advert in the media suspending the implementation of Act 948.”

Government in the 2017 Budget Statement announced some tax reliefs, including abolishing of VAT on Financial services.

To give legal effect to the policy on VAT on Financial services however, Parliament in March 2017, passed the Value Added Tax (Amendment), Act 2017, Act 948, and to include the supply of the financial services as exempt supply.

In arguing his motion, Mr. Iddrisu cited a newspaper in which he said the GRA had published a notice of suspension of implementation of the tax signed by the Commissioner General of the authority.

“From my emphasis…it says that, the implementation of the 3 percent vat flat rate scheme which should have started on 1st June 2017, be postponed to 1st July 2017. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to refer you to article 106 of the Constitution; and it provides that the power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by bills, passed by Parliament and assented to by the President. Mr. Speaker, we were in this House in April when the Minister of Finance introduced what was called the value added tax amendment bill 2017. Subsequently, this august House subjected the bill through the proper processes of legislative scrutiny and passed it unto law. Mr. Speaker, I’m holding here a copy of Act 948 assented to by the President as reported in the Gazette of 5th April 2017. The date of Gazette notification is 7th April 2017…And now we are in the month of June and its being differed,” he said.

The Minority Leader also noted that, the publication would create confusion in the minds of Ghanaians and businesses because it has conflicting figures on which percentage of tax was supposed to be cut off.

“This publication is only going to create confusion in the minds of the Ghanaian public and to businesses, wholesalers and retailers, in one breadth, 17.5 percent, and in another breadth 3 percent flat rate. Mr. Speaker, this is even contemptible of this House; that an institution of GRA and Ministry of Finance will set aside an act of Parliament and just make an announcement that I’m suspending this tax payment,” he explained.

“Mr. Speaker, my motion is to call on the Minister to arrest this contemptible action of the GRA and stop the confusion in the minds of Ghanaians wholesalers and retailers as to which tax rate to pay. I know government is struggling for fiscal space; but even in looking for that space, there must be discipline and the GRA must give reasons why they must not be brought here to explain they are not in contempt of Parliament,” he added.

But the Majority opposed the motion. A Deputy Finance Minister, Kwaku Kwarteng, argued that the decision to postpone the implementation of the law is not necessarily a breach of law but borne out of a genuine challenge with the implementation of the tax.

“The GRA would need to communicate the new ways of implementing the tax to their offices on the ground who actually go to the tax payers to collect the tax. Mr. Speaker, we were in a hurry, we told the Ghana Revenue Authority to immediately implement this law. In response, the GRA did issue that administrative directive also known as tax notes. When the tax officers went to taxpayers to collect the taxes, the taxpayers raised concerns about conflict in the way the tax officers were administering the new tax measure and the tax measure itself. That is, the taxpayers complained that the GRA officers were not implementing the measure as they ought to in the law so they petitioned the Ministry of Finance.”

“We have had engagements with the taxpayers involved as well as the GRA. And it is worthy of note that indeed the taxpayers concerns needed more attention. To do that, we advised the GRA to withdraw the tax notes so that we can resolve the misunderstanding and then they can proceed with the implementation as has started already. So the suggestion that somehow we are suspending a law passed by this house is incorrect,” he clarified.

On the newspaper advert, Mr. Kwarteng said it was wrongly worded.

“I have seen the advert that my colleague was referring to, I’ve looked at it and I think it was an error. I am clear in my mind that, that advert is an error. Nobody, not even the Ministry of Finance has the power to suspend a law that has been passed by this House. And therefore the motion that suggest that Ministry of Finance and the GRA has suspended the implementation must not carry because the preparation and issue, and in fact the communication of this practice notes are being implemented and we are doing so. So to bring a motion to this House that suggests that somehow we have halted the implementation…is wrong,” the Deputy Finance Minister argued.

A few weeks ago, the government announced 26,589 names of public workers have been deleted from the public payroll, saving Ghana about GHC433 million.

According to the government, the affected names were not biometrically registered with SSNIT.

Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, said the exercise was crucial to protect the public purse, but was quick to apologise to all those who were deleted inadvertently.

“With wage issues we have to stay within appropriation and control of wages. We did an exercise recently in which quite a number of people were taking out of the payroll. We’ve had some remarks from some unions, but the real question for all of us in the country is that we know that there is some rot in there, we know we need to take some action and in the process of taking the action a few wrong eggs will be broken and we should apologise for that,” Mr. Ofori-Atta said at the maiden National Policy Summit.

He added: “But in terms of principally understanding and appreciating and working towards a solution, I think that should be the spirit of which our labour partners talk to us. I don’t know the labour partners who we may have wronged, but going through the numbers I actually found one or two of the directors of finance being included in the list that they don’t exist.

“So there are mistakes, which is OK, but truly we are talking about six, seven hundred or even a billion cedis of potential savings. I think it’s incumbent on all of us to work in that spirit because we at the Ministry have no personal interest in individual names but in making it efficient because if we also pursue the investigation I think it will be very embarrassing to realise that your young friend Kojo or Kwame in Elubo is actually able to continue to pay three other people and put that money in his pocket.

“I’m not sure the labour unions are trying to support that type of action, so we do apologise for those who should not have been in but I think we should all resolve that we are going to clean up so that individuals do not privatise this business.”

The monthly programme will allow ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to communicate their policies to the public. The programme is a strategic dissemination of information on government programmes and policies.

The expectation of the Summit is to build partnerships and elicit feedback to government to enhance further policy formulation.

Overall four persons have been appointed to augment the work at the ministry, including Ms Eva Mends, Eugene Asante Ofosuhene, Sampson Akligoh and David Klotey Collison to respective positions.

According to a press statement copied to the B&FT, the appointment of Ms. Eva Mends, a Chief Economics Officer as the Acting Director of Budget, is the first time a female has been appointed to the position.

Eugene Asante Ofosuhene, on the other hand is the new Acting Controller and Accountant General.

In addition, Mr. David Klotey Collison, a Chief Budget Analyst and Mr. Sampson Akligoh, a Technical Advisor to the Minister of Finance have also been appointed Director of Public Investment Division and Financial Sector Division of the Ministry respectively.

Ms. Eva Mends, the Group Head of the Public Financial Management Reforms, joined the ministry as a National Service Person in 1991. Positions she has held include, Head of The Americas Desk in 1998, Head of Budget Development in 2006 and Group Head of Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms in 2013.

As Group Head, she was instrumental in leading major reforms that include gender responsive budgeting, Programme Based Budgeting and lately the development of the new Public Financial Management Act.

She is an alumnus of University of Ghana, where she studied Political Science with Economics and also has an Executive Masters in Public Administration from GIMPA. She has undertaken short courses at the Harvard and Duke Universities. She takes over from Mr. Sampson Asare Fianko, who reverts to his former position as a Deputy Controller and Accountant General.

Mr. Ofosuhene comes to this position with a wealth of experience. As a former Deputy Controller and Accountant General, he was responsible for management of the Government Treasury.

He acted creditably on several occasions as the Controller and Accountant General in the absence of the substantive Controller. He is a Public Finance Expert and has Consulted for the World Bank on the assignment, ‘Strengthening the role of Public Private Partnerships in the Local Government Assemblies’.

Mr. Ofosuhene is a Fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (U.K. & Ireland) F.C.C.A and Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) Ghana. He has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Finance option) from the University of Ghana. He is also a graduate of the London School of Accountancy. He takes over from Mr. Seidu Kotomah, Controller and Accountant General, who has been reassigned to the Ministry of Finance.

Mr. David Klotey Collison joined the Civil Service as an Assistant Budget Analyst at the Ministry of Finance in December 1995. Until his recent appointment as Director in charge of Public Investment, he was the Group Head, Budget Development and was responsible for Compensations Management and Coordination of the National Budget Development Process from February 2015.

Mr. Collison graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Agriculture, majoring in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana in 1993 and also has a Master’s in Business Administration (Finance option) from the same university in 2001.

Mr. Sampson Akligoh, has over 10 years’ working experience in the financial services industry working in advisory, asset management and as an economist.

Until his appointment to the Ministry, he was the Managing Director of InvestCorp, a financial services firm in Accra, Ghana. He served as a Vice President at Databank where he was Head of Research and a Fixed Income Strategist.

He also worked at SIC Financial Services Limited and with ADC African Development Corporation AG in Frankfurt which was acquired by Atlas Mara in 2014. 13. Mr. Akligoh also served as an Adjunct Lecturer in International Economics at Ashesi University College in 2014.

He holds a BA in Economics and Law (First Class Honours) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Ghana, and a Master’s degree in Economic Policy and Corporate Strategy from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.

Sampson Asare Fianko, Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, has been relieved of his post, BUSINESS GUIDE has learnt.

Mr Fianko would be succeeded by Eva Mends, Head of Public Finance Management reforms at the Ministry of Finance.

As at the time of going to press, highly placed sources at the Ministry said an official statement was being prepared to announce the change.

The sources also said a lot more reshuffling had been made at the various offices at the Ministry.

Prior his appointment as Director of Budget at the Finance Ministry in October 2016, Mr Asare Fianko was the Deputy Controller and Accountant General in-charge of Finance and Administration.

He has over 18 years’ experience in financial management both in the private and public sector.

He has also served in various capacities at the Controller and Account Generals’ Department, Ministry of Roads and Transport, Communications, Office of Parliament, among others.

In the case of Ms Mends, she is a product of the University of Ghana majoring in Political Science with Economics.

She also holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from GIMPA, and is a graduate of Harvard University in the US.

The minority has also said that it would petition the Financial Services Authority of the United States to investigate Franklyn Templeton Investment Limited, which was given the unique preferential treatment to purchase 95 percent of the latest government domestic bond.

The investment company also participated in Ghana’s bonds of 2013 and 2015 under former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper.

The minority, who issued the warning at a press conference yesterday in Accra, also called for full parliamentary investigation into circumstances surrounding the “private placement” and unique issuance of the bond since the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, should have brought the bond to parliament for approval.

The ranking member for finance and NDC MP for Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam, Cassiel Ato Forson, who addressed the media on the issue, said the whole transaction was shrouded in secrecy.

According to him, Mr Ofori-Atta, his wife, Dr Angela Ofori-Atta and the Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo, are partners and shareholders of a company close to Franklyn Templeton Investment Limited that bought the 95 percent of the bond.

“The bond was virtually participated by only two investors. The whole bond transaction was shrouded in secrecy to the extent that Ghanaian investors were denied the opportunity to participate in the deal,” the ranking member said, stressing that the entire deal lacks transparency.

He noted that in the past a ‘book building’ approach for issuance of bonds which was initiated by the NDC government, was opened for a minimum of three days to ensure optimal participation; but in the case of the historic $2.25 billion bond issue, the process was limited to just one day, thus denying other market players the opportunity to participate in the process.

“The ‘private placement’ approach used in this Templeton case was not at all competitive. It was opened in the morning and closed in the evening of the same day, obviously cooked for one single investor,” he argued.

He said what is more worrying is that the statement put out by the Ministry of Finance did not name any companies or individuals that participated in the sale, except to say that “the issuance attracted a number of global portfolio investors, including a very substantial investment in the 15-year bond by very well respected global financial investors.”

The ranking member said the minority MPs’ search had also revealed that one Trevor G. Trefegarne, who is one of the five board of directors of Frankly Templeton, is also the Chairman of Enterprise Insurance Limited – a subsidiary of Frankly Templeton which he claimed is owned by the Finance Minister and his wife.

“Putting these apparent facts together, we have reason to believe that there is a relational interest between our Finance Minister and Trevor Trefgarne, which means a potential lack of transparency and a conflict of interest,” the ranking member said.

Speaking at a press conference at the end of a two-week visit to Ghana, the IMF Mission Chief, Annalisa Fedelino, said more needed to be done to restore macro-economic stability and anchor confidence.

The mission’s discussions focused on recent economic and policy development, and the outlook for 2017 and the medium-term, including prospects for restoring high economic growth and job creation.

It also discussed the parameters of the programme, consistent with restoring macroeconomic stability.

“In our view, the immediate priority is to ensure fiscal discipline by bringing down the budget deficit to a level required to place public debt on a clearly declining path. “Continued fiscal consolidation would also facilitate ongoing disinflation and anchor confidence,” she said.

Government has committed to achieve the budget deficit of 6.5 per cent announced in the 2017 budget through a step up in revenue collection.

Annalisa said the significant unpaid commitments incurred in 2016, and weaknesses in the financial position of state-owned enterprises in the utility sector, could undermine fiscal adjustment, and add to spending and public debt.

She called for the need to bring fiscal discipline to SOEs, especially those in the utility sector. She said economic prospects in 2017 were encouraging, as economic growth was expected to pick up, inflation was declining, and prospects for a significant increase in net international reserves, boosted by recent sizable exchange inflows.

Ms Fedelino said the IMF would continue to support the Ghanaian authorities’ policies aiming at macro-economic stabilization and enhancing the growth potential of the economy.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said government was taking pragmatic steps to achieve macro-economic targets and policy outcomes outline in the budget. He said both the IMF and government were working hard to address the challenges of the economy, especially ensuring debt sustainability anchored on the reduction in fiscal deficit.

“I think with the fund as a partner, we will manage that exit in a way in which we won’t compromise growth and private sector development, but at the same time never take our eyes off the general issues of macro-economic stability, fiscal and debt sustainability,” he said.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said government would continue to be creative, while it pursued fiscal consolidation by embarking on growth enhancing initiatives in agriculture, industry and services sector in order to accelerate growth. Besides, the private sector, a key driver of growth, will be provided with the incentives to spur growth, but to reduce poverty.

“We are optimistic that growth will rebound, and rather strongly against the general belief that fiscal consolidation will lead to declining growth,” he added.

The Minister also said Ghana was committed to ending its programme with the IMF as scheduled in April 2018, adding that there would be no extension.