Bond saga: Bawumia’s comment needless – Adongo

Bolgatanga Central MP Issac Adongo has asked the general public to disregard remarks by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to the effect that the Minority in Parliament are an “ignorant” bunch who do not “understand” the processes of managing the economy.

According to him, the Vice President has gained notoriety for failing to address core issues raised in the national discourse and chooses to engage in less profitable discussions.

Dr Bawumia, while speaking to the media in Washington DC about the Minority’s claim that the recent $2.25billion domestic bond issued by the Akufo-Addo government was done in “secrecy”, without parliamentary approval, and “cooked” to favour US-based investor Franklin Templeton, said: “This shows a lack of understanding, the Minority have never understood this economy and it’s just amazing that people on that side who were actually in charge of managing the economy will be making such statements. It really shows ignorance and I am so sad when I hear that from people who should know better.”

According to the Minority, Mr Trevor G. Trefgarne, a director at Franklin Templeton, the institution that bought 95 per cent of the bond, is also a Director at Enterprise Group Limited, a company of which Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is co-founder, thus, raising issues of transparency, conflict of interest, and suspicion.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the Minority, led by former Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, said the involvement of the US-based firm changed the dynamics of the bond from being a domestic one to an international one that needed parliamentary scrutiny and approval.

“We also wish to point out that this Bond issue is clearly an international economic/business transaction within the meaning of article 181 (5) of the Constitution,” he added.

“Therefore, we expected that the bond issuance would have been brought to parliament for approval. This is because although the transaction appears as to be a domestic sale of bonds, it is in truth a ‘private placement’ and an international economic transaction given the fact that Franklyn Templeton is a United States registered company and, therefore, qualifies as a foreign entity under article 181 (5) of the constitution. We, therefore, call on the Finance Minister to provide parliament with the full complement of documentation on this transaction for scrutiny and ratification.”

Dr Bawumia said all the assertions and allegations by the Minority betray their lack of understanding in handling the economy.

“So they need to understand, maybe they should read a little, but they need to understand what took place: we issued a cedi bond, there’s no secrecy to the matter, it was very well invested in. The holders have invested many times in Ghana in bonds that were in place when Seth Terkper issued them, they bought them, 24 per cent interest rate. This time it is 19%, we are doing even much better, but this is what politics has been reduced to, trying to say things which really have no basis and are basically wrapped in ignorance, and, so, I’m a bit sad for Ghana and for them because they are really demonstrating a lot of ignorance in the process of managing this economy,” he noted.

But responding to the vice president’s comments in an interview with Accra News on Friday April 21, Mr Adongo said: “Everybody in Ghana knows Dr Bawumia and how he misleads the public. He is somebody who we must always crosscheck whatever he says due to his inability to churn out accurate facts, and so I am not surprised at his outburst.

“Recently, he said the cost of nurse training forms had been reduced from GHS160 to GHS100 but we all know that the cost of the form had been pegged at GHS100 even before they came to office and so for me he should be ignored by Ghanaians.”

He added: “His [Dr Bawumia’s] comments have even worsened the situation. Instead of spending that time to respond to the questions that have been raised by the Minority, he chose to do what he did on the campaign trail, which is personality attacks and churning out misinformation. At the moment, everybody knows Bawumia and how he churns out falsehood and so I think he should be ignored."

“We are expecting the Minister of Finance to come and answer the issues that we have raised, not this needless comments from the Vice.”