KKD Slams Ofori-Atta’s Databank For Making Money At Expense Of Ghana’s Huge Debts As Transaction Advisor

• KKD has called out the finance minister and Parliament for turning a blind eye to what to him was an unpardonable conflict of interest situation
• He said it was wrong for a company co-founded by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be engaged as Transaction Advisors for Ghana's public loans
• He said Parliament had failed Ghanaians for not defending the interest of the nation as it should

Renowned MC and media personality Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD) has slammed Databank, a company affiliated with the current finance minister, for benefitting from Ghana's debt woes.

In an emotional rant on state-owned GTV's breakfast show on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, the legendary radio and TV host suggested it was heartbreaking for what was a clear conflict of interest to be accepted as the norm.

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"As Ghana gets poorer, the minister of finance’s company or former company, gets richer. Is this what we want to continue in this country?

"Do we want to elect people into office, give them their pay and their perks, and then allow them and their friends and their companies or their former companies to be the very beneficiaries of the woes of our country?" he quizzed in a video that has since gone viral.

Databank As Government Of Ghana's Transaction Advisors

Opposition MP, Isaac Adongo, first disclosed that Databank, co-founded by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been engaged as a transactions advisor (TA) to the ministry and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in the issuance of public debt.

He said they replaced Strategic African Securities as co-advisors in the issuance of government securities.

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Mr Adongo said at the time that the involvement of Databank represented an undisputed conflict of interest situation.

In a press statement titled “Databank must be withdrawn as TA to Ministry of Finance”, the NDC MP for Bolgatanga Central urged Ghanaians to be very concerned about the situation.

According to the Bank of Ghana’s April 2022 Fiscal Monitor report, Ghana’s total debt was estimated at 81.8 per cent of GDP in 2021, higher than the 80.1 per cent, approximately GH¢351.8 billion.

Some members of the opposition party have said Ghana’s debt under Ofori-Atta was unprecedented and have cited the benefits Databank derives from the country’s debts as the reason.

Parliament Has Failed Ghanaians

Speaking on GTV's Breakfast Show as a co-panellist, KKD said that the issue was not only about the minister of finance's clear conflict of interest situation.

"This is about Parliament. Parliament you must be ashamed of yourself. You have failed the people of Ghana. Because I don’t think from the time of Nkrumah till date, whoever is the minister of finance should be benefitting every time the country goes to borrow money…what precedent are we setting?" he lamented.

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He added:

"Yesterday when I read the report, I was so broken and I was like ‘do people know this?’ …What is wrong with us? So the person’s motive for even going for a loan, for me now, is not clear."

Ghana Cedi-To-Dollar Exchange Rate Has Broken The 10: $1 Now Selling at GH¢10.11

YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that the worst fears of Ghanaians about the precarious cedi-to-dollar exchange rate situation have been confirmed on Thursday, August 18, 2022.

Now, $1 sells at forex bureaux for GH¢10.11.

YEN.com.gh’s monitoring of the local forex market suggests the cedi performance against the dollar and other international trading currencies has gotten shoddier.

Source: YEN.com.gh