Bawumia, Ofori-Atta leave out Osafo Marfo

The Chairman of the Economic Management Team, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta are leading a government delegation to the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings leaving out Senior Minister ,Yaw Osafo-Marfo and Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister for Policy Monitoring and Evaluation.

Although, details are sketchy, The Herald is informed that, Mr. Osafo-Marfo, Ken Ofori-Atta and Dr. Bawumia are not getting on well.

Dr. Bawumia and Ken Ofori-Atta, have been good friends for years, and claims are that they have teamed up and sidelined the 76-year old Yaw Osafo-Marfo, who together with Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei are the two most experienced heads in the Akufo-Addo Economic Management Team, having served in the Kufuor government as Ministers of Finance at various times.

Ken Ofori-Atta and Dr. Bawumia are having a feeling the Senior Minister wants to control them using his seniority in years to bully them. The two, however, hold the view that, the Senior Minister, who is an engineer by training, but a banker by profession, has outlived his usefulness.

It is not clear what accounts for Dr. Akoto Osei’s absence from the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, but another experienced hand, left behind in Accra is the Minister of Planning, Prof. George Yaw Gyan–Baffour, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wenchi Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The delegation is rather made up of officials from the Bank of Ghana led by the Governor, Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison; the Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, as well as officials from the Finance Ministry.

Each spring, thousands of government officials, journalists, civil society organizations, and participants from the academia and private sectors, gather in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

Seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events, focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets are held.

Whilst there, the delegation will meet with the World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, as well as the IMF Managing Director, Christian Lagarde.

They would also attend the African Consultative Group Meetings with Christian Lagarde and the World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim.

A major highlight for the delegation is the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Spotlight on Ghana” event, a spotlight event being organized for Ghana to examine the major political and economic trends in Ghana as the new Government charts its course.

The Ghana event at Washington DC from April 18 – 28, 2017, will bring together policy makers, business leaders, country analysts, opinion leaders from Ghana, the United States, as well as other countries.

They will discuss Ghana’s prospects for economic recovery, explore issues of governance and regional leadership and examine the multiple strands on US policy engagement.

Other meetings the delegation would attend include, the G24 Deputies Meetings and the African Caucus Bureau.

The G24 Ministerial Meeting, provides an opportunity for the G24 member countries to consider key areas in which international Financial Institutions and multilateral actions, can effectively complement and support their policy efforts.

The delegation will also hold investor related meetings with holders of Ghana’s Bonds, as well as institutional investors.

These meetings provide an opportunity for the delegation to highlight Government’s economic policies and strategies, as well as investment opportunities in Ghana.

Also on the agenda are meetings with Senior Executives of ratings agencies: Standard and Poors, Fitch, and Moodys.

These meetings present a window of opportunity to re-emphasize government’s policies and strategies in solving macroeconomic imbalances and strategies to ensuring debt sustainability.

Aside the obligatory meetings with the IMF and the World Bank, the delegation will hold bilateral discussions with other partner countries, financial institutions and private sector investors.