My ministry has nothing to hide- Finance Minister

The Minister of Finance says his ministry has nothing to hide on the issuance of the $2.25 bond.

Ken Ofori Atta today appeared before the parliament to give details on the bond issued by the government in April.

It followed the invocation of a half-hour motion in the house last week, by minority leader Haruna Iddrisu, summoning the Minister to appear in person to give details on the bond.

Responding on the floor of parliament, Mr Ofori Atta said his ministry followed the standard rules and regulations guiding the issuance of such bonds.

He stated that his ministry “had no direct dealings with investors.”

“All prospective bidders bid through their primary dealers, who in turn submitted the investor’s bids through the Central Securities Depository platform. The joint transaction advisers then collate these bids to build up a book on which the bonds are issued. At no time during the book building process did the Ministry of Finance negotiate with any investor in any way, and it will indeed be quite difficult to manipulate the process when the three financial institutions are governed strictly by the Bank of Ghana’s rules and regulations.” He pointed out.

Mr. Ofori-Atta added that “there were no breaches of integrity either on government’s part or on the joint book runner’s part.”

“It may be tempting to say that the apparent attempt to manufacture some form of integrity deficit is generally borne out of a lack of understanding of the actual process,”

He continued that due to the experience, network, and competence of government, the bond will not lead the country into distress.

The Finance Minister reiterated his commitment to guarding the public purse as promised by the Akufo-Addo government.

It appears though the minority isn't satisfied his the response.

Ranking minority member on the finance committee Ato Forson said per his calculation the quoted 2.25 million does not tally with the document provided.

The minority leader Haruna Iddrisu also indicated that the minister in response to their concern did to provide  detailed documents on the transaction to satisfy what the real terms of the bond is.