Blakk Rasta: Create ‘Ministry of Unfinished Businesses’ to ensure continuity of dev’t projects
Radio broadcaster Blakk Rasta has proposed the creation of a ministry responsible for completing uncompleted development projects of previous governments to ensure continuity. According to him, this will also reduce the spate of stalled projects in the country. Speaking on the Class Morning Show (CMS) on Clsss91.3FM on Monday, 29 March 2021, the award-winning Reggae musician mused: “Can we have a certain structure that will deal with those unfinished businesses?” He continued: “At least, you have so many ministers. Why can’t you have a minister for unfinished business? When you have a budget, you have miscellaneous. Why can’t we have something like that? A minister for unfinished businesses”. “Your duty is to look at the good things that the last government has done so that you will be able to deal with them,” he added. Commending former President John Mahama for undertaking some projects during his tenure of office, he bemoaned the current state of some of his uncompleted projects due to the lack of continuity. “In fact, [former] President Mahama has actually exposed a lot of these ill-thinking ‘politrick-cians’ in this country. He himself was not an angel but the point I’m making here is very simple: Look at the number of buildings, look at the so many lofty projects that he started. At the end of the day, look at what happened. “They are not being continued. Well one or two. But the rest are rotting up. Cockroaches, snakes and rodents are now benefitting from what human beings should have been benefitting from. Blakk Rasta also called for a review of the powers vested in the President. “I think our presidents are too powerful. They can make and unmake anybody and anything and at the same time, I think that if we are able to bring a certain structure that will limit the power of the president, I think these things can be done”, he indicated. “So, yes, our governments, our presidents are too powerful. That structure should change so that we will be able to have other people come in and deal with some very key issues”, he further reiterated. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Plans to issue new bond smacks of desperate state of Ghana’s finances – Joe Jackson
Plans of the government to issue zero-coupon bonds where there will be no payment of interest until maturity, is an indication that the country’s financial situation is currently going through desperation, a financial analyst with Dalex Finance Mr Joe Jackson has said. In a tweet, he said “Ghana plans to issue Zero-coupon bonds where we pay no interest until maturity. Bonds mature in 4 short years. This is further evidence of the desperate state of our finances. We need to ‘Share the burden’ by taxing the wealthy. #TaxTheRich.” In its latest attempt to use non-conventional means to ease its dire fiscal predicament, Ghana` is attempting to issue zero coupon bonds for the first time. This involves issuing bonds on which no interest will be paid until the bond mature – in Ghana’s proposal, after four years. It is still unclear whether the interest will be lumped front end (in which case the total interest would be deducted from the principal amount to be lent, and the full amount would be repaid to investors upon maturity) or whether it will be paid back-end (whereby the full principal amount would be provided at the time of issuance and the full amount of accrued interest would be added to this and paid to investors at maturity). However considering the sheer amount of interest to be paid over four years – even at seven percent per annum this would still be equivalent to 28 percent of the principal to be borrowed, it is likely that government would insist on the interest to accumulate and be paid back end, upon maturity. Indeed, front-ended interest payment would make the issuance less advantageous to Ghana than a conventional bond issuance where interest is paid annually or semi-annually. Government’s proposal to issue zero coupon bonds is thus an effort to avoid paying interest on the bonds during its lifespan. Interestingly the proposed tenor is four years just long enough for the huge one –time payment of principal and accumulated, compounded interest to become the obligation of the administration that succeeds this one which will use the money. This will generate considerable controversy. The use of back-ended zero coupon bonds would improve the country’s cashflow by enabling it borrow over the medium term without having to meet debt servicing costs of paying interest every year – debt servicing costs have been rising to inordinate levels and this year will take away 49.5 percent of the country’s expected tax revenues – but would leave the next administration, which will succeed this one with a huge debt servicing bill to meet almost immediately it assumes office, comprising the principal amount being borrowed now and the interest accumulated over four years. Indeed, if Parliament had not already approved the planned bond issuance already, government would have found it very difficult, if not altogether impossible to secure legislative approval for issuing the zero bonds it intends, especially without having a clear majority in the house. Even with approval already secured, the intended issuance will generate controversy among parliamentarians politicians, public policy analysts and commentators as well as economists who will question the fairness of leaving the next administration with such a debt servicing bill so early in its tenure. The payment will obviously have to be refinanced rather than paid from the treasury, but the timing will leave the new government with very little time to arrange it, especially if the next government is formed by a party currently in opposition. On the other hand though, the arrangement is perfectly suited to the incumbent government which effectively will be borrowing without any debt servicing obligations accompanying it while still in office. Considering that debt servicing already is taking half of its tax revenues this will be crucial towards its plans for fiscal consolidation to bring the fiscal deficit back under 5.0 percent as demanded by the currently suspended fiscal responsibility law, by 2024. The incumbent government’s supporters will argue that the use of zero coupon bonds is not unfair since its inordinate debt servicing costs have been imposed on it by previous administrations – in effect it would be doing to its successors the same thing as its predecessors did to it. Actually it will not be an easy sell to the international investment community. With Ghana’s public debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio already well above the generally accepted debt sustainability threshold of 70 percent (it was 76.1 percent by the end of 2020) and the World Bank projecting it to rise to over 80 percent by 2023, even recovering the principal amount lent will be seen as risky; zero coupon bonds put the interest at risk too, since by the time it falls due for payment Ghana might be having difficulties meeting its debt servicing obligations unless its debt trajectory changes from its current course. ’Basically government will have to convince investotrs that by the time payments fall due, new sources of foreign exchange revenues would have become available to it – most practically from the development of either the impending Pecan oilfield by Aker or the Afina oilfield by Springfield and partners. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
‘Tired’ 77-year-old Akufo-Addo ‘retiring’ people 18 years younger – Blakk Rasta
Seventy-seven-year-old President Nana Akufo-Addo must be told that he is tired and must retire, Blakk Rasta has said. “Who has more tired limbs than the sleeping President Nana Akufo-Addo? He is a president who sleeps unprovoked”, the radio personality told Kofi Oppong Asamoah on the Class Morning Show on Monday, 29 March 2021. “They are ashamed to tell him in the face that: “Mr President, you’re tired”. “[At] seventy-seven years, you are retiring some people who are 17, 18 years your juniors”, he observed, adding: “I mean, you look at Ghana and you ask yourself: ‘Are we going forward or retrogressing?’” The President recently asked Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo to go on retirement since, according to him, the A-G attained the compulsory retirement age of 60 in June last year, per his own documents at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). A few weeks later, he also directed the Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Mr Kofi Osei Ameyaw, to go on his compulsory retirement. The President’s correspondence to Mr Osei Ameyaw, signed by Executive Secretary Nana Asante Bediatuo, read, in part: “Upon reaching the compulsory retirement age of sixty years on 20 February 2020, the President of the Republic, by a letter under my hand dated September 3, 2020, granted you a one-year contract of service as Director-General of the National Lottery Authority”. “The one-year contract lapsed on 20 February 2021, and, therefore, you are retired on that date”. “Accordingly, you are directed to hand over to Mr Ernest Mortey, the Finance Director of the Authority, who shall act as the Director-General of the Authority pending the appointment of a substantive Director-General. You are further directed to proceed to collect any terminal benefits or facilities due you under the relevant law.” classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Appear in 2 hours to answer question; stop disrespecting Parliament! Speaker orders Health Minister
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has summoned Health Minister Kweku Agyeman-Manu to appear before the house in the next two hours to answer a question concerning his ministry. The question stands in the name of the Member of Parliament for Sefwi Akontombra, Alex Tetteh Djornobuah. Mr Djornobuah wants to know from the minister the type of health facility being constructed in Sefwi Akontombra and when it will be completed and handed over. Minority Chief Whip Annoh Dompreh pleaded with the Speaker to defer the question, as, according to him, the minister had indicated his absence to the Majority Caucus. However, this did not sit well with Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak, who argued that such habits on the part of ministers must not be tolerated. In his ruling, the Speaker said ministers must take Parliament seriously and, therefore, demanded that the minister appear in two hours to answer the question. He said: “The minister responsible for health is aware that a question has been scheduled for today. The reason he has given for his inability to present himself to the house to answer the question is completely disrespectful to parliament and I’m not going to take that”. “I direct the minister appear before parliament in the next two hours to answer the question. Failing to do so… ministers must take parliamentary business seriously…within two hours, the minister must appear to answer this question.” Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093