Kwesi Pratt skeptical about performance of Ken Ofori Atta

Ken Ofori Atta may be an experienced banker but running the finance and economic planning of a country is substantially different from running a private bank, Kwesi Pratt, Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper has said.

According to him, things in the private sector is a different ball game from that of the public sector, hence the Finance Minister-Designate may not perform successfully as he did in his private career.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday 10th January 2017, nominated 13 persons including Ken Ofori Atta as Ministers of State.

He is the co-founder of Databank, an indigenous Ghanaian bank which is well known for investment banking.

Many have said since he was successful in contributing his quota to the financial service as a private man, he would bring fresh thinking and innovation to the Finance Ministry and manage the economy well.

However, critics including Kwesi Pratt argue that since he has never held any position in the public sector before, he would find it difficult conforming to the dynamics of his new sector, a situation which may affect his performance.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good morning Ghana on Wednesday, the Managing Editor pointed out that as Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta is going to look at how to accumulate social profit, look at the political profit of the economy and which is not done when running a bank.

In his view, he believes the likes of Dr. Osei Akoto and Mr. Osafo Marfo who have experience in in that sector would have done a great job if one was appointed to the Finance Minister position.

“As a Minister of Finance you would have to work to please people who may not have any understanding about the technical workings of the economy and also work to deliver results which are not really economic and that may be a challenge for Ken”, Kwesi Pratt observed.

Though he emphasized that managing the economy would be a challenge for Mr. Ofori Atta, he wished him well, urging him to open himself up for advice from the experienced ones.