$2.25bn ‘backdoor’ bond illegal – Fmr. Deputy Finance Minister

A former Deputy Minister for Finance and Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has taken a swipe at Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta over government's decision to issue what he describes as a 'backdoor' 2.25 billion dollar bond.

According to the Investment banker cum politician, not only is the bond a deviation from the NPP’s campaign promise not to borrow, but also an attempt disregard legal processes.

Mr. Ricketts-Hagan who described the bond as a ‘backdoor’ and an illegal one argued that the domestic bond should have been posted on the Bank of Ghana issuance calendar before its issue.

The Cape Coast South lawmaker who was expressed disappointment in the process noted that the impression was created by the finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, that the bond will be issued domestically with indigenous financial institutions expected to subscribe to more than half, only for Franklyn Templeton, an American allegedly linked to Enterprise Group Limited to purchase more than 90 percent of the bond issue.

Some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) last week petitioned the Securities Exchanges Commission of the United States of America claiming insider trading in the sale of the bond saying the process was “shrouded in secrecy to the extent that Ghanaian investors were denied the opportunity to participate in the deal.”

But government has denied the claim with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia describing the NDC's claims as 'ignorant and uninformed' urging members of the party to 'read more and understand' the processes involved in such a transaction.