Ken Ofori Atta: Silence is not an option

Whereas the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has managed to accomplish the feat of populating his administration with more family members than any past Ghanaian head of state, military or civilian, ever ventured to attempt, his cousin, the Finance Minister is also busy promoting his friends.

Upon assuming office, the finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta, wasted no time after realizing that Ghana was cash trapped, he puts together some few friends, who have money, including himself to lend to the state.

He transacted the business on behalf of the state under the caption ‘Bond’. What is disturbing, however, is that the transaction was so much shrouded in secrecy, even the government’s legal advisor, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice was kept in the dark.

The question we at The Herald, wishes to ask the minister is, was the transaction done in secrecy, because of the source of the funds in respect to the lenders or the funds are not from legitimate sources of income?.

The minister has feigned innocence and has turned a blind eye, since the minority in parliament raised the issue.

The obligation is not his alone to bear, as happened to the loan he took from the Prudential Bank to fund the campaign of his uncle, the liability affects us all and the unborn generation, so he cannot pretend all is well.

We are not surprised about this behavior; because the ousted executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), i.e. Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyapong, Sammy Crabbe, and the party, were not aware of the loan he contracted from the Prudential Bank, so in essence you can say, secrecy is his stock in trade, when it comes to money.

Power, they say is transient, today you might feel because you are in power, you can get away with everything, but remember there is no statute of limitation on crime, your sins will catch up with you, sooner rather than later.

Ghanaians need the full details of the transaction; we need to know the reasons for not embarking on a road show, which would have allowed so many Ghanaians to buy the Bond, why only your friends and wife, were the only people, who were given the opportunity?

The country must not be allowed to return to the years of the locust. This can only be achieved when in the minds of all the key actors, Ghana comes first, in this classic case Ken and his friends came first.