Where There Is No Wolf

Prominent Members of Parliament in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have continued to shoot themselves in the foot, and only heaven knows when they will stop embarrassing the party in the eyes of the international community.

The penchant for NDC MPs to rush to international institutions for so-called ‘explanations’ on nearly every major move taken by the Nana Akufo-Addo administration makes one wonder whether there are no people within the party to give members the needed explanations on local controversial policies.

In 2017, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minority Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs, led an NDC delegation to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and called for an investigation into a GHȻ2.25 billion bond initiated by the finance minister.

The Minority in Parliament claimed the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, breached conflict of interest rules because 95% of the bond was purchased by Franklin Templeton, a US-based investment firm.

According to them, the US-based firm was closely associated with the Minister because it was also a major shareholder of Enterprise Group, a company closely aligned with the private interests of Ken Ofori-Atta.

 

They went further to aggressively allege that one Trevor Trefgarne, who was on the Board of Franklin Templeton, had influenced the direction of the bond issuance.

 

Today, fifteen months after that hot air, and the call on the minister to resign, the party and its MPs are hush over their claims. While nothing is heard from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the local suit at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has virtually backfired.

 

The next embarrassment for the NDC was the recent petition to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, once again for clarification, on the $2 billion barter deal between the government of Ghana and Sinohydro.

 

The party, in a letter signed jointly by Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, to the IMF Resident representative in Ghana, Natalia A. Koliadina and copied to the Country Director of the World Bank, referred to what it saw as inconsistencies in the transaction, and insisted it was a loan, and not barter.

The irony of that letter was that, even though the NDC MPs swore they had carefully read the document and was SURE they understood its contents, they still asked for CLARIFICATION on the matter. Hear them:

“We, the Minority, have carefully studied the provisions and terms of the so-called barter transaction, as officially tabled and passed by Parliament, and have identified a number of legal and technical issues that explicitly make the transaction a loan. Thus, as was argued during the Parliamentary debate on the transaction, it is the Minority’s opinion that the value of the transaction be added to the debt stock. The Minority in Parliament would, therefore, like to seek clarification on this from the IMF.”

Their hopes were deflated last week when the IMF was explicit that the deal could not be classified as a loan.

The question now is: What is the NDC’s next move, and for how long are they going to continue embarrassing themselves outside our shores?

Going forward, THE PUBLISHER wishes to advise the NDC to make sure it cries ONLY WHERE THERE IS A WOLF.

The party must do its homework well before jumping unto the international arena.

Twice beaten, thrice shy.