AM Show || DDEP: BoG was the only entity that took a haircut on principal

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Transcript

00:00:00 A very good morning to you.

00:00:01 Welcome to the seventh day of the eighth month

00:00:04 in this 23rd year in the 21st century.

00:00:07 My name is Benjamin Akakwa,

00:00:09 as always bringing you the finest of morning television

00:00:12 together with Bernice Aboubeidou-Lansard.

00:00:14 This is the AM Show.

00:00:15 Welcome aboard.

00:00:17 Now coming up shortly, the news as we usually do,

00:00:20 and joining us for the news review,

00:00:21 Executive Director, Media Foundation

00:00:23 for West Africa, Suleymana Abraima.

00:00:26 He'll be joining us for the news review.

00:00:28 And right after that, we get into sports.

00:00:30 And after sports, we'll be bringing you our big stories.

00:00:33 Now, as far as we're concerned,

00:00:35 the Bank of Ghana, per that latest research

00:00:38 put out by Dr. Richmond Etiahene and KB Frimpong,

00:00:41 reveals that the Bank of Ghana took a 50% haircut,

00:00:45 more or less, compelling it to lose

00:00:47 more than 32 billion Ghana cities.

00:00:49 Now, the research shows that the amount

00:00:51 formed part of the huge losses the central bank incurred

00:00:55 in the last fiscal year.

00:00:57 And that is partly on the back of the DDEP.

00:01:01 Now, according to the research paper,

00:01:02 the over 60 billion loss could affect

00:01:05 the central bank's ability to perform

00:01:07 key responsibilities in the coming years.

00:01:10 Well, joining us for that conversation,

00:01:12 Dr. Richmond Etiahene himself, a banking consultant.

00:01:15 We also have Isaac Kofi Ejde, data analyst here

00:01:18 with us at Join News.

00:01:19 Both of them join us for that conversation.

00:01:22 Then again, we get into the conversation

00:01:24 concerning the Colleges of Education,

00:01:27 Teachers Association of Ghana and their industrial action.

00:01:31 What is the latest on that matter?

00:01:33 The group has been on strike for a while now.

00:01:36 We'll be speaking to its leadership

00:01:37 at the National Labor Commission as well on that beat.

00:01:42 And today, we come your way with citizens microphone

00:01:46 all the way from Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

00:01:48 Today, we talk about Pragya Riders

00:01:52 and how they go about the activity.

00:01:54 Whether it's menacing and what the effect of that is.

00:01:58 And finally, we've got a wrap

00:01:59 of the Equibank Join News Habitat Fair.

00:02:01 The second clinic took place at the West Hills Mall

00:02:03 over the weekend.

00:02:04 We're bringing you details of that.

00:02:06 Stay tuned for that and more right after the break.

00:02:09 (dramatic music)

00:02:13 (dramatic music)

00:02:16 Thank you for staying.

00:02:39 Let's get into our first story now.

00:02:41 And the National Lottery Authority spent

00:02:43 more than 16 million Ghana cities between 2018 and 2020

00:02:48 on corporate social responsibility activities

00:02:51 without an approved corporate social responsibility policy

00:02:55 in place.

00:02:56 Now, this was revealed in the 2022 Auditor General's report

00:02:59 on public boards, corporations

00:03:01 and other statutory institutions.

00:03:03 The report also indicated that the authority paid

00:03:06 some 1.3 million Ghana cities as leave allowance

00:03:10 to its staff without deducting the appropriate taxes.

00:03:13 There's more in the following news desk report.

00:03:16 - According to the report,

00:03:18 while no corporate social responsibility policy

00:03:21 was developed and approved,

00:03:23 the NLA had a significant budget

00:03:25 and had spent 16.6 million cities on CSR

00:03:30 over a span of three years.

00:03:32 The authority spent 2.7 million cities in 2018,

00:03:36 5.1 million cities in 2019,

00:03:39 and a whopping 8.8 million cities in 2020.

00:03:44 The Auditor General indicated that it had recommended

00:03:47 to the authority in 2019 that it urgently developed

00:03:51 and implement a CSR policy and ensure that activities

00:03:55 it undertook were in line with the policy.

00:03:59 However, as of the time of the 2022 report,

00:04:03 a CSR policy had still not been developed and approved.

00:04:06 Further in the report, the Attorney General also revealed

00:04:10 that 10% of the annual salary of employees

00:04:13 is paid to each staff as leave allowance

00:04:16 without appropriate tax deductions.

00:04:19 A total of 1.35 million cities

00:04:22 was paid without tax deductions.

00:04:24 This resulted in 101,254 Ghana cities and paid taxes

00:04:29 and a loss in revenue to the country.

00:04:35 Now, the challenge of unemployment

00:04:37 and low-grade job prospects among the youth

00:04:40 creates major socioeconomic and political concerns.

00:04:43 Every year, more than 100,000 young graduates

00:04:46 from tertiary institutions join

00:04:48 the already choked employment market.

00:04:51 Tertiary students awaiting to be employed

00:04:53 into various sectors are being entreated

00:04:55 to explore business opportunities for self-employment.

00:04:58 Clinton Yabua has more in this report.

00:05:01 - The youth unemployment rate in Ghana

00:05:04 remained nearly unchanged at around 7.14% in 2022.

00:05:09 Unemployed youth bearing the brunt

00:05:12 of high rates of unemployment raised concerns

00:05:15 about the adequacy and suitability of education

00:05:18 and training relative to the needs of the economy.

00:05:21 In view of this, embracing entrepreneurship as a student

00:05:24 has been acknowledged as a means

00:05:26 of ensuring personal growth and financial independence.

00:05:30 Chief Executive Officer of Serendipity Academy,

00:05:32 Dr. Elvis Justice Bidi, admonished the youth

00:05:36 to consider taking up entrepreneurial activities

00:05:38 during their academic journey.

00:05:40 - You know, the youths, we've been depending

00:05:44 so much on the government.

00:05:45 So I think if it's high time the youths now take,

00:05:50 you know, decisions for themselves

00:05:52 and, you know, they try to do something for themselves,

00:05:55 maybe enter into a business,

00:05:57 try to do something different in support

00:05:59 of what the government, you know, is doing.

00:06:01 So I think that is, you know, the first step

00:06:04 that, you know, would really curb all these,

00:06:06 you know, unemployment in the country.

00:06:08 If there's someone out there, you know,

00:06:11 that's, you know, studying and also wants to,

00:06:13 you know, do something different,

00:06:14 I would advise, you know, the person to really know

00:06:18 how to, you know, manage their time.

00:06:19 Time management, being disciplined,

00:06:21 and trust me, everything else is noise.

00:06:24 The real question is how are we going to be able

00:06:26 to multiply that way, and that is you learning a skill.

00:06:30 It could be, I don't know, and it's got to do Forex,

00:06:32 but I don't know it could be any skill.

00:06:34 - Elvis Bedi was speaking at the Learn to Earn

00:06:37 3.0 Financial Literacy Training

00:06:40 by the Secretary and Financial Officers

00:06:42 of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science

00:06:44 and Technology Student Representative Council.

00:06:46 The training, themed Forex Mental Health

00:06:49 and Psychology Awareness, aims to empower individuals

00:06:52 with the technological knowledge

00:06:54 and skills to manage their finances effectively.

00:06:57 Ken Westy, SLC General Secretary, Comfort Ewa,

00:07:00 indicates the training will leave beneficiaries

00:07:02 with financial skills to earn a living.

00:07:05 - When we had the idea of having a program

00:07:08 to educate and train students

00:07:11 and by giving them financial skills

00:07:14 to be able to join into the financial market

00:07:17 of Forex trading, we weren't expecting such numbers.

00:07:21 I must say I'm very amazed.

00:07:23 I'm so happy that whatever we have been inspired of

00:07:28 to have such a program for the students of KNUST,

00:07:31 they held on to it.

00:07:33 They came around with their books and their pens

00:07:35 to jot something down to be able to help them.

00:07:39 I mean, not just graduate with a certificate,

00:07:43 but then also graduate with skills,

00:07:45 skills that would help them earn money

00:07:47 and not just join the market of unemployment.

00:07:52 - Reporting for JNEWS, Clinton Yabua.

00:07:54 - In our next story, the Dufia of Ziopo,

00:08:00 Togbi Kodwave, Ahiamba the Fourth,

00:08:03 has initiated a campaign to end open defecation

00:08:07 in the capital of the Agotime-Eziope district

00:08:10 in the Volta region.

00:08:11 Now, the project would encompass

00:08:12 the construction of sanitary facilities

00:08:15 and a public campaign on open defecation

00:08:17 seeks to end communicable diseases.

00:08:19 The phase of the sanitation project

00:08:21 was commissioned over the weekend.

00:08:23 - Adama of Niger origin lives here in Ziope

00:08:29 with a 10-member family,

00:08:31 which her husband left behind about a year ago.

00:08:34 She has been single-handedly fending

00:08:36 for the 10 children and one grandchild.

00:08:39 A well constructed in the compound

00:08:41 serves as their only source of water

00:08:44 as they strive to make a living

00:08:45 in the absence of other basic amenities.

00:08:48 She blamed her inability to afford water,

00:08:51 electricity, and a toilet facility

00:08:54 on her impoverished lifestyle.

00:08:56 This development is widespread in Ziope

00:09:15 in the Agotime-Eziope district

00:09:17 where the less privileged are unable

00:09:19 to construct sanitary facilities in their home.

00:09:22 They mostly engage in open defecation

00:09:24 in the outskirts of the community,

00:09:26 which relies on water from wells and treated plants.

00:09:30 The assembly member for Ziope,

00:09:32 Philippe Koufigan Azameti,

00:09:34 said there is always a scare of outbreak

00:09:36 of communicable diseases

00:09:37 due to the practice of open defecation.

00:09:40 We are afraid of the spread of the disease.

00:09:45 We are afraid of the spread of the disease.

00:09:48 We are afraid of the spread of the disease.

00:09:50 We are afraid of the spread of the disease.

00:09:52 We are afraid of the spread of the disease.

00:09:57 We are afraid of the spread of the disease.

00:10:02 This threat to public health was a concern

00:10:05 for King's men in the Ziope traditional area

00:10:07 and was tabled before the Dufia.

00:10:10 Togbe Ikboruave Ahiagba IV joined his installation.

00:10:14 One year on, he redeemed a pledge

00:10:16 of constructing sanitary facilities

00:10:18 in a bid to end open defecation.

00:10:21 One out of five four-unit biogas sanitation facilities

00:10:25 earmarked to be constructed in Ziope,

00:10:27 he was commissioned over the weekend.

00:10:30 Mary Ruth Adovlo is the leader

00:10:32 of the project execution team.

00:10:34 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:10:40 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:10:42 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:10:47 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:10:52 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:10:56 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:10:59 We are working on the biogas water closet.

00:11:01 This is the modern one.

00:11:05 At the end of the day,

00:11:07 it is the impact that he makes on his people.

00:11:11 His focus is the youth.

00:11:13 That's the manpower base.

00:11:15 And it is not ending here.

00:11:17 In his speech, he did mention that projects.

00:11:21 He has started the electrification aspect

00:11:23 by providing streetlights.

00:11:25 He'll be looking at technology

00:11:27 and then what investments can get the youth

00:11:31 occupied can give jobs to the youth.

00:11:34 So it's a broad base.

00:11:36 Fred Kwame Asare, join us.

00:11:39 This is your opinion.

00:11:40 Now, the paramount chief of the Guinem traditional area,

00:11:54 Nana Bofo Bene IV,

00:11:57 has observed with worry the tallest

00:11:58 of unresolved chieftaincy and land disputes

00:12:01 in the Buno region.

00:12:03 Eight out of the 17 paramounts in the region

00:12:06 are in dispute.

00:12:08 Now, speaking in Sunyane at a memorial lecture

00:12:10 in honor of the late Nanaiya Nyama II,

00:12:14 Sunyane Queen Mother,

00:12:15 Nana Bofo Bene IV said,

00:12:17 "Until peace reigns in the region,

00:12:18 growth and development will continue to elude them."

00:12:23 Buno Regional Peace Council's third memorial lecture

00:12:26 in honor of the late Nanaiya Nyama II,

00:12:29 Queen Mother of Sunyane, was on the theme,

00:12:31 managing and resolving chieftaincy and land disputes

00:12:35 through dialogue and consensus building.

00:12:37 Participants, including the family

00:12:39 and Buno Regional Minister, Jestida Osubanahine,

00:12:42 eulogized the contribution of the late Queen Mother

00:12:45 in fostering peace in the region.

00:12:47 However, chieftaincy and land disputes remain high,

00:12:50 with eight out of the 17 paramounts in dispute.

00:12:53 Soal Abdel Akwanda, Executive Secretary

00:12:56 of the Buno Regional Peace Council,

00:12:58 explains the rationale behind the theme.

00:13:00 Sometimes when these cases happen,

00:13:03 another way to handle or to manage is to go to court,

00:13:06 to do adjudication.

00:13:08 Or if you want to go to the extreme,

00:13:09 or sometimes even to do violence,

00:13:11 the parties are resort to violence.

00:13:14 In order for it not to happen at all,

00:13:17 for us to be bringing parties together

00:13:20 to facilitate a dialogue.

00:13:21 So we want to understand the causes,

00:13:25 we want to understand the effects,

00:13:28 and we want to understand what can be done to deal with it.

00:13:32 According to the Regional Lands Officer,

00:13:34 Benjamin Jojo Eduhansen,

00:13:36 the dispute affects land administration,

00:13:39 which needs to be resolved.

00:13:40 Those who have even agreed that they should come

00:13:42 and determine their boundaries,

00:13:44 some employed unprofessional surveyors,

00:13:47 those we call the quack surveyors.

00:13:50 They are not trained surveyors,

00:13:51 but our chiefs rely on them

00:13:54 to help them determine their boundaries.

00:13:56 No, this brings problems, and we have to stop it.

00:13:59 Our chiefs themselves, in fact, I will not take them out.

00:14:02 They must know that they own their land,

00:14:05 and we are here to serve them.

00:14:08 I will plead with them that right from the onset,

00:14:11 they should look for the professionals.

00:14:13 Every chief who wants to develop his land into township,

00:14:17 the processes are there.

00:14:19 Either you go to the assembly,

00:14:21 or even come to the Lands Commission.

00:14:23 The paramount chief of Junim Traditional Area,

00:14:25 Nanabo Fubini IV,

00:14:27 expressed worry about the slow growth of the region

00:14:30 due to dispute.

00:14:32 He called for peace to end their fair share of development.

00:14:35 When the government wants to put up a project,

00:14:39 it is a problem.

00:14:41 And almost every day, you go to court,

00:14:45 it is land dispute.

00:14:46 It is chieftaincy.

00:14:48 So if these things are going on,

00:14:50 how do we plan for development?

00:14:53 So today, as we met here,

00:14:54 and Nanabo have heard that we are major stakeholders,

00:15:00 other stakeholders are here,

00:15:02 and they have come out to realize that

00:15:05 these two things, land and chieftaincy,

00:15:07 are not helpful in our city development.

00:15:11 We hope we'll go back and plan,

00:15:15 and take a second look at it.

00:15:17 The waste means chieftaincy is facing problems.

00:15:22 Precious Semevo, Joy News, Sumyayin.

00:15:25 - Let's talk about the country's finances now.

00:15:30 As member of parliament for Boligatanga Central,

00:15:32 Isaac Adonku is doubtful

00:15:34 about the finance minister's assurances

00:15:36 regarding a fall in inflation.

00:15:39 He highlights several indicators

00:15:41 that contribute to the inflationary problem,

00:15:43 stating that there continues to be

00:15:45 a year-on-year growth of currency

00:15:47 outside the banking sector.

00:15:49 He opines the inflationary rate

00:15:51 is likely to continue to rise,

00:15:54 seeing that in just a year,

00:15:55 money outside the banking sector grew by 44.8%,

00:15:59 and in the first half of 2023,

00:16:01 it increased by 41.3%,

00:16:04 leading to a substantial withdrawal of funds

00:16:07 from the banking system.

00:16:08 - So in December--

00:16:10 - Inflation was 41% in May.

00:16:13 It increased to 42% in June.

00:16:17 That should tell you that inflation is on a uptick,

00:16:21 and nobody celebrate 42.5% of inflation.

00:16:24 - But it was 54.1 at the peak in December, 2022.

00:16:28 - Why, he wanted--

00:16:29 - So he's saying it has declined, and that is a fact.

00:16:32 - No, I'm saying that if you had 42%,

00:16:36 54%, and you think that it should remain there,

00:16:39 then you are not a manager of the economy.

00:16:40 Let me tell you why inflation will remain elevated.

00:16:43 I'm giving you these numbers from his own budget.

00:16:48 Year-on-year growth.

00:16:50 Currency outside the banking sector,

00:16:53 the monies that they pumped into the economy,

00:16:55 are not in the banks.

00:16:57 People are withdrawing the money

00:16:59 and putting it in their rooms,

00:17:01 in their boxes, and under their beds.

00:17:05 That alone grew by 44.8% in 2022, just one year.

00:17:10 Half year, June of this year,

00:17:14 it has increased by, it has grown by 41.3%.

00:17:17 It means that in one and a half years,

00:17:20 over 86% of the money in the banking sector

00:17:23 have left the banks.

00:17:24 This will put further pressure on inflation.

00:17:29 That's why inflation is on an uptick.

00:17:31 You have to look at the fundamentals

00:17:33 that are driving the numbers.

00:17:36 If you were giving me downward growth in these numbers,

00:17:39 then I'm seeing that your inflation will be anchored,

00:17:42 and that you are beginning to solve the problem.

00:17:45 But the problem still persists,

00:17:46 and it's been getting worse.

00:17:48 Look, total liquidity in the economy, 2022,

00:17:53 grew by 38%.

00:17:56 And by half year, it has grown even more

00:17:58 than the total year, by 44.4%.

00:18:01 How can you solve inflation with these type of numbers,

00:18:06 liquidity numbers?

00:18:07 Look, currency in circulation, 2022, it grew by 42.8%.

00:18:12 And as at half year, it has grown by 38.8%.

00:18:16 Reserve money, 2022, increased by 57.5%.

00:18:21 And by half year, it has grown by 29.24%.

00:18:26 These are the numbers that are driving inflation.

00:18:28 So if you see these numbers, and you are not scared,

00:18:32 look, if you get 52, 57.5% increase in your reserve money,

00:18:37 what it means is that this must be multiplied

00:18:41 by a factor of three to get the money supply in the economy.

00:18:44 In other words, your amount of money in circulation grew

00:18:48 by almost, I mean, your money supply,

00:18:51 increased by almost 160% in one year.

00:18:54 And you need to bring those monies back

00:18:57 in order to solve the problem of inflation.

00:18:59 - And we cap off the news on that economic note,

00:19:03 but do stay with us in a few minutes.

00:19:05 We come your way with the news review.

00:19:07 We'll be right back.

00:19:08 (dramatic music)

00:19:11 Well, thank you for staying with us for the news review.

00:19:38 We'll be joined shortly by Sulemana Braima.

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00:20:21 So a few matters that have been boiling up

00:20:24 over the past few days, over the past week and more.

00:20:28 There's the Cecilia Dapa, the latest developments

00:20:31 as far as that is concerned.

00:20:32 And now the push and shove from her brother's family,

00:20:36 the wife to be specific.

00:20:37 That issue is turning out to be one interesting issue

00:20:42 that does look to be long drawn or will be long drawn.

00:20:47 We're just waiting to see how that will pan out

00:20:50 from the Attorney General's standpoint,

00:20:51 from the OSP standpoint,

00:20:54 from the legal standpoint, so to speak.

00:20:57 There's also the development in Niger

00:20:59 and everything else that has taken place in that country.

00:21:02 That military endeavor by ECOWAS

00:21:05 has been thrown into the dustbin for now,

00:21:09 at least as far as Nigeria is concerned.

00:21:12 Bolatinbo of course leading the sub-regional body,

00:21:17 but the Nigerian Senate refused to go along

00:21:20 with the military option or the martial option.

00:21:24 So the question is, what next for Niger?

00:21:28 And with Mali cutting ties with the French

00:21:33 and Niger seemingly following that path,

00:21:37 what will happen in the light of this,

00:21:41 especially with other Francophone countries

00:21:44 and their engagements with France?

00:21:46 Of course, you do know, if you know the history,

00:21:47 that over time, even from the colonial days,

00:21:52 the post-colonial days, France, Britain, among others,

00:21:56 have maintained some sort of cordiality,

00:21:59 some sort of relationship, even economic relationship,

00:22:02 with their former colonies.

00:22:04 That's why we have the Commonwealth, for example.

00:22:07 And the French, who used a very interesting system

00:22:11 of assimilation, have also continued on that trajectory.

00:22:15 But is that wall crumbling?

00:22:18 That is the question to ask.

00:22:21 But we'll find out with time.

00:22:24 Time is the master of all, and it determines how things go.

00:22:28 Let's get into the newspapers,

00:22:29 and maybe let me just sound a warning to all of us

00:22:34 with social media accounts.

00:22:36 Sometime, was it Saturday, I got a message from Instagram

00:22:40 reporting that something was going on with my account,

00:22:45 and it had been blocked.

00:22:47 I mean, all of a sudden, I had been under the weather

00:22:50 on Saturday, so by the time I came in,

00:22:53 there was nothing to do.

00:22:55 It's later that someone informed me

00:22:57 that likely my account had been hacked.

00:23:00 That was the, whatever this person was posting

00:23:05 was not in good taste.

00:23:07 So I don't know, today I'll have to reach out,

00:23:09 but let's protect our social media accounts.

00:23:12 Every now and then, you see someone on Facebook,

00:23:14 this or that social media platform

00:23:16 with their accounts getting hacked.

00:23:18 The latest sufferer or victim.

00:23:22 So let's watch out.

00:23:23 I don't know about the protective mechanisms.

00:23:25 On WhatsApp, for example, you have that,

00:23:27 what do they even call it?

00:23:30 Q system, whatever, but I don't know about Instagram,

00:23:34 so I guess I'll have to check and get the rest of that

00:23:37 so I don't get hacked.

00:23:39 I don't get hacked again.

00:23:43 But Suleymane Braima joins the conversation.

00:23:48 Suleymane, a very good morning to you, sir.

00:23:51 - Good morning, Ben, thanks for having me.

00:23:54 - It's good to have you via phone this morning.

00:23:57 I suffered a hacking incident over the weekend,

00:24:02 which has still not been resolved.

00:24:03 Has any of your accounts ever been hacked, Suleymane?

00:24:06 - Well, unfortunately for me, not,

00:24:09 and I hope that it would not happen.

00:24:12 It would be a terrifying thing to happen,

00:24:15 so I'm afraid that's it.

00:24:18 - Well, it looks like I have been a culprit.

00:24:20 Hopefully not on you.

00:24:23 But before we get into the paper, Suleymane Braime,

00:24:25 I was just talking a bit about the latest developments

00:24:28 as far as the Cecilia Dapaisu is concerned

00:24:30 and her late brothers, her deceased brother's wife,

00:24:34 and the requests that are now being made,

00:24:38 and the AG and the OSB and how things could pan out.

00:24:41 And I was also talking about the Nigerian situation

00:24:45 and Tinubu's triggering of the nuclear option,

00:24:48 so to speak, the Marshall option,

00:24:51 and the Senate jettisoning that proposal.

00:24:56 Any thoughts on these or any other matters

00:25:00 before we get into the papers?

00:25:01 - Well, the Cecilia Dapaisu incident,

00:25:06 I think is gonna continue to unfold for a while

00:25:10 because as it is, people have tried to create stories

00:25:15 and scenarios and explanations and excuses.

00:25:19 And from all indications, it appears things are not working.

00:25:24 We were told that the money belongs to the late brother.

00:25:29 Now the family, I mean, the closest in terms of spouse

00:25:35 of the late brother, she's,

00:25:38 "Well, I didn't know my husband had that much,

00:25:40 "and so now that I'm told, I'm coming for it."

00:25:43 And so I think the spin doctors have a lot of work to do.

00:25:48 - You call them spin doctors?

00:25:50 - Exactly.

00:25:51 I mean, it's not an easy mess to clear,

00:25:54 and the spin doctors, I believe by now,

00:25:57 are thinking of what next story to craft.

00:26:02 I really sympathize with them

00:26:06 because they have a lot of work to do.

00:26:08 And so we see how things would continue

00:26:11 to unfold on that front.

00:26:13 But as I said, it's not an easy mess to clear.

00:26:15 And so we look forward to the next stories

00:26:18 from the spin doctors and how things will go.

00:26:20 Niger is, for me, I've always said that

00:26:26 the coup d'etat in Niger was a matter of

00:26:30 when it was gonna happen and not if,

00:26:32 because the signals were there long ago.

00:26:34 And unfortunately, our leaders looked on

00:26:37 as if they wanted to wait, and once it happens,

00:26:41 then they do the condemnations

00:26:42 and the kinds of things that they are doing.

00:26:47 For me, quite obviously, there's no way,

00:26:51 there's no way that ECOWAS military intervention

00:26:55 is gonna be an option.

00:26:56 It's never gonna be an option

00:26:59 because that would even further escalate

00:27:03 the regional problems that we are having.

00:27:06 They talk about how ECOWAS intervened

00:27:08 in Liberia, in Sierra Leone, and so on.

00:27:12 Their circumstances were different.

00:27:14 Their context is different.

00:27:17 Sierra Leone, Liberia was a situation of a civil war.

00:27:22 Now, we don't have a civil war in Niger.

00:27:26 It's a situation of insecurity in the whole region.

00:27:31 People, I mean, terrorists and fundamentalists

00:27:34 are waiting to exploit any loopholes

00:27:37 and opportunities they would have.

00:27:39 So it's a terrible situation.

00:27:42 And as many have said, what is important

00:27:45 is that we take steps to avoid these things

00:27:48 rather than wait for them to happen

00:27:49 and then we wanna show up.

00:27:52 The Nigerian situation, I believe,

00:27:54 calls for dialogue, calls for greater diplomacy,

00:27:59 and so on, rather than the threat

00:28:01 of military intervention and all of that.

00:28:03 It's not gonna work.

00:28:05 - Let me then ask you whether you agree,

00:28:07 you concur with Liberian President,

00:28:11 His Excellency George Maniwia,

00:28:13 who I've seen many quotes on this,

00:28:17 but who says, "We," that is, ECOWAS,

00:28:19 "cannot condemn military coups

00:28:22 "when we do not condemn those who carry out

00:28:25 "institutional coups in the sub-region.

00:28:28 "ECOWAS should work for the interest of our peoples."

00:28:32 Does he have a point, looking at some of the happenings

00:28:35 in the Gambia, in Sierra Leone, in Senegal,

00:28:40 in the Ivory Coast, where Alassane Ouattara

00:28:44 has had an unprecedented third term?

00:28:47 Is he right to make that statement,

00:28:49 that basically suggesting,

00:28:51 once you don't allow the institutions

00:28:53 to roll over leadership, and institutionally,

00:28:57 you're trying to perpetrate a coup,

00:29:00 then likely, these are some of the consequences you'll see?

00:29:03 - Well, he is absolutely right.

00:29:07 You know, ECOWAS had a strategic vision

00:29:11 that expired in 2020, and the whole thing was

00:29:15 to have ECOWAS as ECOWAS of the people,

00:29:18 rather than ECOWAS of heads of state,

00:29:20 which it had always been.

00:29:22 Unfortunately, after years of the implementation

00:29:26 of that vision, we still have ECOWAS of heads of state,

00:29:29 rather than ECOWAS of the people.

00:29:31 Because from all indications, what is happening

00:29:34 is that ECOWAS is all about the wishes

00:29:37 of the heads of state, and not the wishes of the people.

00:29:40 We had Alpha Conde in Guinea,

00:29:43 going all, I mean, doing all that he could

00:29:48 to change the constitution.

00:29:50 ECOWAS looked on, people demonstrated,

00:29:53 the Guinean people were on the streets,

00:29:55 saying, "No, this is not democracy.

00:29:56 "This is not how democracy should be practiced.

00:29:58 "There are term limits.

00:29:59 "When your term is over, you have to leave."

00:30:02 What happened?

00:30:03 They used the security to kill people.

00:30:05 Not less than 200 Guineans were killed.

00:30:09 ECOWAS looked on until the coup happened.

00:30:13 Then when the coup happened,

00:30:14 suddenly we had heads of state,

00:30:16 ECOWAS heads of state meeting, emergency meeting,

00:30:20 declaring what has happened illegal,

00:30:22 and calling for the release of Alassane Ouattara.

00:30:25 I remember that time, President Nkufu Addo

00:30:27 was the chairman of the ECOWAS heads of state.

00:30:31 Our foreign minister was deployed to Guinea

00:30:33 a couple of times.

00:30:34 And so people say, "Oh, okay."

00:30:36 So when hundreds of people were being killed,

00:30:39 you didn't care.

00:30:40 And when the people were demonstrating

00:30:42 and taking action to ensure that democracy works,

00:30:45 because democracy is about the constitution,

00:30:48 and the constitution was being tampered with,

00:30:50 and what the people had to do was to be on the streets

00:30:53 to ensure that democracy works, you didn't care.

00:30:57 And then when that person overthrew the constitution

00:31:01 and asked the constitution to have a third term,

00:31:04 now when the military takes over,

00:31:06 then you say, "Oh, that's not democracy."

00:31:08 The same thing had happened in Cote d'Ivoire.

00:31:11 Indeed, in Cote d'Ivoire,

00:31:12 at least a dozen people were killed.

00:31:15 And now President Ouattara is sitting there

00:31:17 on his third term in Togo.

00:31:19 It has happened.

00:31:20 You know, Eyadema has been there

00:31:22 since the father passed away.

00:31:24 He's been there.

00:31:25 What kind of democracy is that one?

00:31:27 We know they all subscribe to the ideologies of France

00:31:30 and so on and so forth.

00:31:31 But France never have, you know,

00:31:32 a situation of having one president for decades.

00:31:36 But Togo, that is the situation.

00:31:39 When this orchestration was happening in Senegal,

00:31:44 whether President Markus Sauer wanted a third term

00:31:46 or no third term and so on, there was silence.

00:31:49 Assuming he had decided, "I'm going for a third term,"

00:31:52 I don't know what would have happened.

00:31:54 But even now, the opposition party in Senegal

00:31:56 has been dissolved.

00:31:58 I don't know under what circumstances in a democracy

00:32:01 a government can say,

00:32:02 "I have dissolved the opposition party

00:32:05 "and arrested figures in the opposition party."

00:32:08 I don't know whether that is democracy,

00:32:09 but we are looking on.

00:32:11 So I think that our dear ECOWAS has a lot to do,

00:32:14 and indeed, it must become an ECOWAS of the people.

00:32:17 And what that means is that our heads of state

00:32:20 must move away from hypocrisy and be real.

00:32:23 Those who are democracy adherents must ensure

00:32:28 that their tenants of democracy are adhered

00:32:31 across the region.

00:32:33 Rather than sit on, wait on,

00:32:35 we cannot speak the truth to each other until things happen.

00:32:39 And if we continue that way, unfortunately,

00:32:41 we're gonna have a lot more of these things on our hands.

00:32:45 - Well, we pray not.

00:32:47 But let's get into the papers now, Suleyman Ebrahima,

00:32:49 starting with the "Daily Graphic" newspaper.

00:32:51 Cabinet approves lithium policy.

00:32:53 It covers other green minerals.

00:32:55 Recently, of course, we were hearing

00:32:57 from the sector minister talking about the fact

00:33:00 that they wouldn't, is it, grant licenses

00:33:03 without proper due diligence, so to speak.

00:33:06 We hope so, and we pray so.

00:33:09 The BC begins today, 602,457, sit examination.

00:33:15 No need to own cylinder.

00:33:17 Pick up, pay for content.

00:33:19 That's on page 16.

00:33:20 That's an interesting development.

00:33:22 I'll get into that story.

00:33:23 Music Festival in support of pediatric care launched

00:33:26 and report bribe-taking court officials,

00:33:29 chief justice, just the public.

00:33:31 Recently, there was one high-ranking judge

00:33:35 who came, you know, on whom the spotlight was thrown

00:33:40 for negative reasons.

00:33:43 On the back page, Navaskan donates to school

00:33:46 and helps sustain Green Ghana Agenda,

00:33:48 Advanced Ghana, says so.

00:33:51 So on the first story about Cabinet approving

00:33:54 a lithium policy, which covers other green minerals,

00:33:59 Cabinet has approved a new policy

00:34:00 for the exploitation management and regulation

00:34:03 of lithium and other green minerals in the country.

00:34:06 Often referred to as, quote, "minerals of the future,"

00:34:09 green minerals are metals and other mineral resources

00:34:12 that are needed to support the transition

00:34:14 to clean energy technologies aimed

00:34:17 at reducing carbon emissions.

00:34:19 A wide range of minerals that fall under the umbrella

00:34:21 of green minerals include bauxite, cobalt, copper,

00:34:25 lithium, granite, manganese, and nickel.

00:34:28 The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources,

00:34:30 Samuel Abujinapo, told the Daily Graphic last Thursday

00:34:33 that Cabinet approved the policy on July the 27th this year

00:34:37 after a rigorous interrogation.

00:34:39 The new green minerals policy thus amends the mining

00:34:42 and minerals policy of 2014 to include robust

00:34:45 and aggressive regimes that will enable the country

00:34:47 to reap optimal benefits from lithium

00:34:50 and other green minerals.

00:34:52 Mr. Abujinapo said the new policy would lead

00:34:55 to legislative interventions by Parliament,

00:34:57 including an amendment of the Minerals and Mining Act 2006,

00:35:00 that is Act 703, with the relevant processes already begun.

00:35:05 For instance, he said, "While Act 703 set the rate

00:35:09 "for mineral royalties at between three and 5%,"

00:35:12 which has been woeful, by the way,

00:35:14 "the new policy would see a different royalty regime

00:35:17 "for green minerals."

00:35:19 The question is, how different would it be?

00:35:22 How different?

00:35:23 Any quick reaction to this

00:35:24 before I move on to other stories?

00:35:25 Suleymane.

00:35:26 - Well, I think that the green energies regime

00:35:30 is such an important area.

00:35:33 I know around the world today,

00:35:35 a lot of companies are out there exploring

00:35:38 the possibility of engaging in that sector,

00:35:43 particularly lithium, cobalt, and tantalite.

00:35:46 As a country, we've been on mining for decades now.

00:35:52 Gold mining has been with us for, you know,

00:35:56 God knows how long.

00:35:58 Orboise, Tahquah, and so on.

00:36:01 And yet, you go to these communities

00:36:03 and you don't see any reflection of the kind of resources

00:36:06 that have been taken away from those communities.

00:36:09 And so, as a country, I think it's really important

00:36:12 that we manage this new area quite well.

00:36:17 What one wonders is, if the same level of corruption

00:36:22 and all of that would not bedevil this same sector.

00:36:27 And I really doubt we would not have the same problem.

00:36:30 Because even if you take lithium,

00:36:33 even as we are now being told

00:36:34 that the policy has been approved,

00:36:36 it's possible that people have already acquired

00:36:40 and taken over concessions and all of that.

00:36:43 And to a large extent, these will be political people,

00:36:47 people of influence, and so on.

00:36:49 One can only hope that, you know, we go by what we say

00:36:53 and ensure that this wouldn't be a nine-day wonder,

00:36:58 where we just throw up policies, sign documents,

00:37:02 but in terms of reality, it becomes a different thing.

00:37:06 We have to keep our eyes on it,

00:37:09 particularly those of us in the media.

00:37:11 Let's understand the issues,

00:37:14 let's interrogate the policies,

00:37:17 and ensure that we follow through

00:37:19 to hold those who must ensure

00:37:22 the proper management of this sector accountable.

00:37:27 You talked about BCE, which is an important thing for me,

00:37:33 because my son is on.

00:37:35 And so I can only wish all those who are writing today

00:37:38 the very, very best of luck,

00:37:41 and hope that we continue to work towards

00:37:44 improving our education sector,

00:37:46 so that we can have the best for the future of this country.

00:37:49 - Right, just a few stories before I go to page 16.

00:37:54 I'm just going to tease out some of those

00:37:56 that the Daily Graphic itself teases out

00:37:59 on the second page of the paper.

00:38:02 There's this interesting one you should check out

00:38:05 if you grab a copy of the paper on page 13.

00:38:07 Girl 16 refurbishes KG classroom block

00:38:10 for Adidiso community.

00:38:12 A 16-year-old girl and a student of the SOS Hermann Gmeiner

00:38:16 International College in Thema,

00:38:18 Mamiafua Asabia Yeboa,

00:38:21 has refurbished and provided furniture

00:38:23 and teaching and learning materials

00:38:25 to the kindergarten classroom block

00:38:27 of the Adidiso Municipal Assembly Basic School

00:38:29 near Nankese in the Suhum municipality

00:38:31 in the Eastern region.

00:38:32 Further details on page 13.

00:38:34 A 16-year-old is doing this.

00:38:36 How about the other bigwigs in our society,

00:38:39 those millionaires and all of that,

00:38:43 and the powers that be, especially the politicians.

00:38:46 What are you doing?

00:38:46 Elon Musk to fund legal bills of ex-users.

00:38:51 And Elon Musk has said,

00:38:52 "Ex, formerly known as Twitter,

00:38:54 "will pay the legal bills of anyone

00:38:56 "who is treated unfairly by their employer

00:38:58 "for their activity on a social media platform."

00:39:00 Elon never ceases to surprise me.

00:39:03 In fact, nothing he does,

00:39:04 I think I've got to the point

00:39:06 where nothing he does surprises me anymore.

00:39:08 But another interesting one,

00:39:10 Jubilee House goes solar.

00:39:11 And the seat of the presidency,

00:39:13 the Jubilee House is rolling out a plan

00:39:15 for boosting clean energy supply

00:39:17 to ensure 60% of its energy consumption

00:39:20 is supplied through solar by the end of 2023.

00:39:23 And maybe finally, for your quick reflections,

00:39:25 Nigerians fearless as ECOWAS deadline expires.

00:39:28 And Niger's capital, of course, Niami,

00:39:31 was calm on Sunday with citizens

00:39:33 appearing undaunted by the threat

00:39:35 of military intervention by West Africa's

00:39:37 regional bloc ECOWAS as it's ultimating

00:39:39 for the country's cool leaders to reinstate.

00:39:41 The president expired.

00:39:43 It's like an Odeshi situation over there.

00:39:47 Any quick reactions before we do page 16 and move on?

00:39:50 - I think I would just briefly comment again on Niger.

00:39:55 And to say that, look,

00:39:57 what people want is leadership

00:40:01 that improve their lives.

00:40:04 Whatever name you call it,

00:40:08 what people want is leadership

00:40:11 that helps them live a better life.

00:40:15 Leadership that enables them

00:40:16 to assert their fundamental rights

00:40:19 to expression, to food, to liberty,

00:40:23 and to live in dignity.

00:40:26 And whether that is called democracy or whatever,

00:40:29 so long as they feel this is what works for us

00:40:33 or this is what might work for us,

00:40:35 that is what they will go for.

00:40:37 We all know that, and we all say,

00:40:39 that democracy, if done well,

00:40:42 is the best form of governance.

00:40:44 And there's no doubt about that.

00:40:46 And therefore, collectively as a region,

00:40:48 what we have to do is to ensure

00:40:50 that the countries that have democracy

00:40:53 become an example for others to look up and say,

00:40:56 look, we want the type of governance

00:40:57 that is happening in Ghana or Liberia

00:40:59 or Sierra Leone or Senegal.

00:41:02 Rather than just call it democracy,

00:41:04 we go into elections, somebody is elected,

00:41:06 sometimes dubiously, and then the person just comes on,

00:41:11 you don't see any difference between

00:41:14 that person who is elected,

00:41:16 that kind of leadership that is being provided,

00:41:18 and that of military leadership.

00:41:20 Then you say, oh, democracy, democracy,

00:41:22 because somebody is elected.

00:41:23 We need to perfect our democracy

00:41:25 and make it work for the people.

00:41:26 Until we do that, I think people, as I said,

00:41:29 what people want is leadership that improves their life.

00:41:32 That's it.

00:41:33 We can call it democracy or we can call it whatever.

00:41:36 But until we make sure that democracy works for the people,

00:41:38 we'll continue to have trouble on our hands.

00:41:40 - Right.

00:41:41 There's that final story I'll look at on page 16.

00:41:44 No need to own cylinder, pick up pay for content.

00:41:47 So from September this year,

00:41:49 residents of Accra and selected parts of the country

00:41:51 do not have to own a cylinder to use gas.

00:41:54 Here's why.

00:41:55 Gas users only have to pick up filled up cylinders

00:41:59 and pay for the content, the liquefied petroleum gas,

00:42:02 after registering with their national identity card.

00:42:06 This is due to the phased implementation

00:42:08 of the cylinder recirculation model

00:42:10 being championed by the National Petroleum Authority

00:42:12 and its partners under the supervision

00:42:15 of the Ministry of Energy.

00:42:16 The rollout will begin in Accra and Kumasi next month

00:42:18 and gradually spread across the country.

00:42:22 What do you make of this?

00:42:23 Positive, very positive development, right?

00:42:26 - Yes, it is.

00:42:27 Very positive.

00:42:28 I think that we've been hearing it for some time now.

00:42:31 And I hope that this time,

00:42:34 as they've indicated their commencement date,

00:42:37 it would really work out because, you know,

00:42:40 we have people with challenges even buying a cylinder

00:42:45 on their own.

00:42:46 And apart from that,

00:42:47 we've had issues where people tamper with, you know,

00:42:52 certain parts of the cylinder

00:42:54 because they cannot afford fixing it and so on.

00:42:57 But I believe if we're gonna go into this circulation mode,

00:43:02 that the folks who would be in charge

00:43:03 would make sure that when a cylinder is filled

00:43:06 for people to pick it up,

00:43:07 it will mean that the lid is well done and everything

00:43:12 so that the leakages and all the threat it poses

00:43:15 would be something of the past.

00:43:17 So it's really positive and we look forward to it.

00:43:20 - Okay, let's get into the Daily Guide newspaper.

00:43:23 In fact, we have just about eight and a half minutes,

00:43:26 Suleymane, so we'll breeze through the papers.

00:43:29 The Daily Guide,

00:43:30 "Baumiya Storms Ekufuwado's Backyard for Votes,"

00:43:33 "NPP will continue to invest in the youth,"

00:43:35 "Gabi slams Ablakwa over West Blue contract."

00:43:39 I beg your pardon.

00:43:40 I've had enough of this.

00:43:41 I don't know whether you'd like a bite on that.

00:43:43 There's "Bakwai DCE daughter's autopsy today."

00:43:47 And then "Ibrahim Ajei promises Legokuku recapture."

00:43:52 All right, so let's get into the stories.

00:43:54 So, "Senior partner at Africa Legal Associates,"

00:43:59 "Gabi Ochudakwa slammed the member of parliament"

00:44:01 "for Noctong Samuel Kudetwab-Lakwa"

00:44:02 "for criticizing the law firm for providing,"

00:44:05 "legitimate and bona fide legal services"

00:44:09 "to West Blue Ghana Limited."

00:44:11 "The NDC MP had castigated Mr. Ochudakwa,"

00:44:13 "a member of Ghana's governing party,"

00:44:16 "for representing West Blue Ghana Limited"

00:44:19 "in order to recover $187.3 million owed to it"

00:44:24 "by the government of Ghana"

00:44:25 "under a contract signed on August 4th,"

00:44:28 interestingly, 2015, "for the Ghana Revenue Authority"

00:44:31 "and the Ministry of Finance"

00:44:32 "to operate a national single window at the country's ports."

00:44:35 You do remember what Ablakwa says

00:44:38 about the pushback from the opposition then,

00:44:42 you know, before the 2016 election,

00:44:44 saying that everything was wrong with the deal.

00:44:46 Now, they got into power,

00:44:48 and he was representing the other side,

00:44:50 which they had vociferously said

00:44:53 was corrupt, that deal was corrupt.

00:44:55 Now he was representing that side

00:44:57 to get money from the state.

00:44:58 And that is what Ablakwa says,

00:45:00 saying that even the AG had sort of,

00:45:03 I have to choose my words carefully,

00:45:07 gone the other way, when in fact,

00:45:10 prior to that, they had all spoken vociferously

00:45:12 against the move.

00:45:14 I'll give you an opportunity to react to that,

00:45:16 but let me just bring in some other stories.

00:45:20 So I'll go to page six now.

00:45:23 And there's Bakwai DCE daughter's autopsy today.

00:45:28 I'm sure you followed that story, Suleymana.

00:45:31 So pathologists are expected to perform an autopsy

00:45:34 on the body of the daughter

00:45:35 of the district chief executive of Bakwai,

00:45:37 Kukuche Baafua, today, Monday, August the 7th, 2023,

00:45:41 to ascertain the cause of her death.

00:45:44 Police sources say there were no marks

00:45:46 of gunshot or violence on the deceased,

00:45:49 Ekyase Wache, who was reportedly found

00:45:51 lying unconscious at the back of their house

00:45:53 at Epumabibu in the Ashanti region

00:45:55 on August the 3rd, 2023, at 5.30 p.m.

00:46:00 Quick reactions?

00:46:01 - Well, that's a sad incident.

00:46:05 - Very.

00:46:06 - I hope and pray that the investigations

00:46:10 are thoroughly done so that the perpetrators

00:46:12 eventually can be, if indeed it was a case

00:46:15 of people having committed a crime,

00:46:19 those people will be found and brought to justice.

00:46:23 Commiserations to the family

00:46:24 is a very, very sad development.

00:46:26 And it also points to the need for us

00:46:30 to continue to work on issues of security,

00:46:33 human security, and protection of lives

00:46:36 and property in our country.

00:46:38 Again, commiserations to the family.

00:46:41 On Okudetoa Ablakwe's issues raised,

00:46:47 I think it's a very, very important

00:46:49 and significant development for all of us to follow.

00:46:52 Again, our media are not helping.

00:46:55 My good friend and brother, Fortuna Limi's Daily Guide,

00:47:00 I think they can do a better job

00:47:02 than basically waiting and Gabi reacts

00:47:05 and then they say Gabi slams Okudetoa Ablakwe.

00:47:08 Gabi slams Okudetoa over what?

00:47:10 I mean, when Okudetoa raised those issues,

00:47:12 I don't think that the Daily Guide

00:47:15 found it appropriate to say,

00:47:16 "Oh, Okudetoa slams Gabi for A, B, or C."

00:47:20 And at this point, I think what is important

00:47:22 is maybe to have the issues dispassionately presented

00:47:26 so that people can have informed views about it.

00:47:29 - Suleymane, you've been in this space for a while.

00:47:32 You should know that dispassionately presented

00:47:35 will not come from certain corners.

00:47:37 - Well, absolutely, but we have to continue

00:47:40 to also let the public know what is important

00:47:43 and how they would be better served

00:47:47 rather than, of course, we know that

00:47:52 this particular angle will come from a paper

00:47:56 like Daily Guide or another angle

00:47:58 may come from another paper.

00:48:00 In terms of the journalistic aspect of it,

00:48:02 people will be better served when our media

00:48:05 do the dispassionate work that they have to do.

00:48:08 I can understand Okudetoa's position

00:48:10 that, look, if you criticize this deal

00:48:13 as something that was overinflated

00:48:17 and your own government comes to do a due diligence

00:48:21 and value for money audit and all of that

00:48:23 and certain things were established,

00:48:25 it's quite a bit curious that you are the same person

00:48:28 now going around representing the company

00:48:31 to try and get money from the state.

00:48:35 And I'm saying that maybe it's not over yet.

00:48:37 All of us who are in the media space,

00:48:41 we would better serve the people

00:48:43 if we go into the issues, get Okudetoa's issues,

00:48:46 get Gabi's responses and present the facts as they are

00:48:50 for the people to make their own judgment.

00:48:52 - But we do know, what we do know is that, for a fact,

00:48:56 is that the MPP administration now,

00:48:59 when they were in opposition,

00:49:01 railed, like I said, viciously, vociferously

00:49:04 against the deal.

00:49:05 So the pirouette they've performed,

00:49:07 the about turn, is curious.

00:49:09 But then again, we'll leave this matter

00:49:13 to run its natural course.

00:49:15 And we can only shape thought, put the facts out there,

00:49:20 and it's left to the people to decide for themselves,

00:49:22 read between the lines.

00:49:25 Or is this a case of okumfu dumfu, anyway?

00:49:28 - Well, I think we can help.

00:49:32 We can really help not to make the issue,

00:49:35 Gabi versus Okudetoa matter,

00:49:37 but make the issue a national one.

00:49:39 And, well, I think we would have conversations

00:49:42 about how perhaps we need to bring this out.

00:49:45 I have told my brother and friend Okudetoa

00:49:50 some time ago that, well, being a member of parliament,

00:49:55 he would be privy to, sometimes, a number of things

00:49:59 that individual journalists may not be privy to.

00:50:02 And sometimes it may be useful to engage the mainstream media

00:50:07 to explain certain things to them

00:50:08 so that when matters are picked up, right or wrong,

00:50:13 it wouldn't become like it's an individual thing

00:50:15 that is being done.

00:50:16 It would be presented and highlighted in the media

00:50:21 in such a way that, yes, he can be cited

00:50:24 as told the false or whatever.

00:50:26 But sometimes, if it continues this way,

00:50:28 it becomes like it's an Okudetoa business.

00:50:32 - And like you rightly mentioned,

00:50:36 depending on which paper you look at,

00:50:38 you'll see different things.

00:50:39 So you look at the Ghanaian publisher this morning.

00:50:40 It says, "West Blue's 187 million Ghana City claim.

00:50:44 "Gabi schools are blackware."

00:50:46 Where's the schooling exactly?

00:50:48 You know, so it becomes, I agree with you, our papers.

00:50:51 But of course, they must sell.

00:50:53 You know, that is the reality.

00:50:54 They must sell.

00:50:55 So whether it's sensationalization or whatever,

00:50:58 they must sell and they will do what it takes,

00:51:00 especially in this space where social media has taken over.

00:51:04 A lot of papers are suffering, even if,

00:51:06 I don't want to mention names,

00:51:07 but the biggest newspapers in our country,

00:51:09 the national ones, the dailies,

00:51:11 if you look at the figures they were selling then

00:51:13 and what they are selling now,

00:51:14 it's about a quarter or less of what they are selling,

00:51:17 hard copy.

00:51:18 So, I mean, you wouldn't be surprised

00:51:20 that a lot of them are employing such means

00:51:22 and maybe getting tipped along the way.

00:51:25 But that is what the reality is.

00:51:30 Anyway, just to wrap, Suleymano, so we can knock off,

00:51:34 fugitive Italian mobster blows cover

00:51:36 celebrating Napoli win.

00:51:37 Guess what?

00:51:38 He's been the 60-year-old criminal

00:51:40 who was on Italy's 100 most wanted fugitives list

00:51:43 and previously sentenced in absentia to 14 years

00:51:46 and four months in prison for tax evasion and tax fraud

00:51:49 was apprehended after police spotted him

00:51:52 in a photo of a group of football fans.

00:51:54 Can you imagine that?

00:51:56 La Porta was out celebrating his hometown football team,

00:51:59 Napoli, winning the Italian championship

00:52:02 for the first time in 33 years.

00:52:04 And that was how the police spotted him, traced him.

00:52:08 He's accused of money laundering and a whole lot.

00:52:12 There's also 5.5 magnitude earthquake

00:52:16 collapses more than 100 houses in China

00:52:19 and Pakistan passenger train derails killing 30.

00:52:24 When you look at the Finder newspaper,

00:52:26 this interesting one, achieving modern economy

00:52:29 will fulfill vision of founding fathers.

00:52:31 You know, recently the president has been speaking

00:52:33 about transforming Ghana's economy.

00:52:35 And some have asked the question,

00:52:36 in this twilight of your administration,

00:52:39 like we're practically, we're in the seventh year

00:52:43 and you're now going to change which economy again?

00:52:46 And Economy Times, government records 6.3 billion

00:52:49 in Ghana city deficit for first half 2023.

00:52:53 And Bankers Association, what are they saying?

00:52:56 Banks ready to withstand any shocks.

00:52:59 You can pick one or two of these and reflect on them

00:53:02 in some 30 seconds, Suleymane, and we're gone.

00:53:05 - Well, a quick one on the banking sector.

00:53:09 I have been following quite closely and curiously

00:53:12 the conversations around Bank of Ghana

00:53:15 making a loss of 60 billion CDs

00:53:19 and their attempts to write of the dead and all of that.

00:53:23 And I keep telling myself that not too long ago,

00:53:26 the Bank of Ghana as a supervising entity

00:53:29 had to take over a number of banks

00:53:32 and eventually consolidate them into what we have now

00:53:36 as Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited.

00:53:38 - Right.

00:53:39 - If the supervising entity itself is now messing up

00:53:45 or has messed up the way it is,

00:53:47 I believe if there was another entity,

00:53:49 we would have had a situation where they would say,

00:53:51 okay, we need to take over the Bank of Ghana.

00:53:54 Because if the others did the same thing

00:53:57 in terms of lawful--

00:53:58 - I get what you mean.

00:53:59 - All of that, and they were taking over,

00:54:01 then really, if we had the opportunity,

00:54:05 the Bank of Ghana itself maybe have to also be taken over

00:54:08 by another entity and then managed properly.

00:54:11 - Well, we don't have those options to trigger.

00:54:14 - We can't trigger the nuclear option with our central bank.

00:54:17 But thank you, Suleymana.

00:54:20 Interesting thought there.

00:54:21 Suleymana Braima, thank you for joining the conversation.

00:54:23 Suleymana Braima, Executive Director,

00:54:25 Media Foundation for West Africa.

00:54:27 Have a wonderful day, sir.

00:54:29 And this is how we wrap the conversation.

00:54:31 A few messages coming through.

00:54:32 This one says, it's from Honorable Sam Aristotle, you say.

00:54:37 Happy birthday to my lovely sister and everything,

00:54:39 Janet Amwano Adgomwa Mprumim.

00:54:42 May the Lord bless you with more age and blessings.

00:54:46 Harriet Ampuffel, you celebrated your birthday,

00:54:48 I believe, on Saturday.

00:54:50 Belated happy birthday to you.

00:54:51 God richly bless you.

00:54:53 I know it's been quite a struggle,

00:54:55 but keep faith and don't get despondent.

00:54:57 God has got you.

00:54:58 And to my friend Wallace in Tennessee in the United States,

00:55:02 you've been under the weather.

00:55:03 God be with you.

00:55:04 I wish you the very best of the day.

00:55:06 This segment, before we go into sports,

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00:55:14 Just reach out to them here in Accra.

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00:55:25 Their call lines, 0244-867068

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00:55:33 Endpoint Homeopathic Clinic, the end to chronic disease.

00:55:36 Interesting developments in the Women's World Cup.

00:55:39 South Africa crashing out, the United States crashing out

00:55:43 to Sweden among others.

00:55:45 And of course, some of those friendly games

00:55:47 played in men's football.

00:55:48 More of that coming your way in sports.

00:55:50 (dramatic music)

00:55:57 (dramatic music)

00:56:00 (dramatic music)

00:56:02 (dramatic music)

00:56:05 (dramatic music)

00:56:08 (dramatic music)

00:56:11 (dramatic music)

00:56:13 (dramatic music)

00:56:16 (dramatic music)

00:56:17 - Good morning, time now to do some sports on the AM show.

00:56:21 I am Mufti Awonabula,

00:56:22 Abla Africa Games 2023.

00:56:24 It will be staged in Ghana.

00:56:26 Effective March 8th, 2024.

00:56:28 And to the Minister of Youth and Sports,

00:56:30 Mr. Fahyusif says that the competition

00:56:33 will boost Ghana's economy.

00:56:35 - Not just the $145 million.

00:56:43 What I said was that the $145 million

00:56:47 was for the provision of those facilities

00:56:48 that we are developing.

00:56:50 But the University of Ghana too have their contract,

00:56:52 which is about 35.

00:56:53 So in all, it's about 195 million for the facilities,

00:56:56 the game village and everything.

00:56:58 But I could not give the actual figure

00:57:00 about what is going to be the actual cost of the games.

00:57:04 Until the games is completed,

00:57:05 then we can come to the public

00:57:07 and inform the public how much was spent.

00:57:10 But you should understand that

00:57:11 in some of these games,

00:57:13 for example, in the Commonwealth Games,

00:57:15 the British government disclosed

00:57:18 that they spent almost a billion pounds

00:57:20 in organizing the Commonwealth Games.

00:57:22 Ghana is not going to spend that much money,

00:57:24 but we should know that it's a very expensive venture

00:57:27 and we have already committed resources to it.

00:57:29 And the country stand to also benefit enormously

00:57:32 from organizing the games

00:57:34 because we are going to drive traffic to Ghana

00:57:37 and it will boost our tourism.

00:57:38 We are going to have over 2.5 billion TV and online viewers,

00:57:42 which is also good for our country.

00:57:44 We are going to have all the 55 nations

00:57:47 that are going to participate in the tournament,

00:57:50 using our local banks to transfer the money

00:57:52 for their athletes and their teams.

00:57:54 And it's going to boost their currency

00:57:56 because they are all going to then be using US dollars

00:57:59 to transfer money, which is going to boost the currency.

00:58:01 Aside that, we are going to have foreign direct investment

00:58:04 because we intend to make sure that we get partners

00:58:08 to develop hostel facilities and hotel facilities

00:58:11 around the facilities at Batma.

00:58:13 This is also going to be good for us.

00:58:15 Aside that, you know better than I do

00:58:17 that our various federations, whether swimming,

00:58:20 whether basketball, whether athletics,

00:58:23 whether cycling, whether fencing,

00:58:24 they always organize continental championship,

00:58:28 national championship and global champion.

00:58:30 Now we have opportunity with this facility,

00:58:32 the aquatic center,

00:58:33 to organize world championship of swimming.

00:58:37 We have opportunity to do world championship for basketball

00:58:41 because we have huge facilities now.

00:58:43 And it's once we do that,

00:58:44 beyond the games, we'll be raking in revenue for the states.

00:58:48 We'll still be then given opportunity

00:58:49 to develop more talent

00:58:51 because there'll be facilities to be trained

00:58:53 so that when they represent us in international competition,

00:58:57 whether continental or global showpiece,

00:58:59 they'll bring home glory to our nation.

00:59:01 So, and it's also a huge opportunity

00:59:04 for Ghanaians to get engaged.

00:59:06 We are going to engage a lot of volunteers.

00:59:08 People have started working

00:59:10 because of the construction ongoing.

00:59:12 The contractors, over 2,000 people

00:59:13 are already engaged,

00:59:16 working in various sites, in other sites.

00:59:19 As I said, beyond the games,

00:59:20 people are still going to be working there.

00:59:21 So it's going to create job opportunities

00:59:23 for the achieving youth of our country.

00:59:25 - Let's stay on the Minister of Youth and Sports,

00:59:29 Mr. Fayou Siphe.

00:59:30 And he has thrown his weight behind

00:59:33 and the Fire Black Stars coach, Chris Hilton.

00:59:36 The last couple of weeks,

00:59:37 some executive council members,

00:59:39 notably Dr. George Amwako and Dr. Randy Abbey,

00:59:43 as well as his team manager, Aminish Shadu,

00:59:46 criticized the performance of the Black Stars

00:59:48 under his tutelage.

00:59:51 However, the Minister of Youth and Sports,

00:59:53 Mr. Fayou Siphe, says that he's very confident

00:59:55 in the abilities of Chris Hilton

00:59:56 because he's got the experience

00:59:58 to lead the national team to succeed.

01:00:01 - I believe Chris Hilton is a very, very experienced coach.

01:00:04 I have a total belief that he's a very experienced coach

01:00:07 and he has worked so hard throughout his career.

01:00:11 And he knows the challenges that he face

01:00:13 as a head coach of the national team.

01:00:15 It's not easy to coach a national team.

01:00:18 There is a difference between a national team and a club.

01:00:20 The whole country was expecting results from you.

01:00:23 But I still also believe

01:00:24 that we should give Chris Hilton the opportunity.

01:00:26 We should give him time to establish himself

01:00:29 in the national team and we'll see the results.

01:00:32 I have a strong belief that the team,

01:00:34 the current technical team, I have total confidence in them.

01:00:37 And let's give them opportunity

01:00:39 to deliver for Mother Ghana.

01:00:42 - Give them the opportunity to deliver for Mother Ghana.

01:00:45 That is the Minister of Youth and Sports,

01:00:46 Mr. Fayou Siphe speaking there.

01:00:48 Now, let's talk about Ghana primarily.

01:00:49 The competition will be starting

01:00:51 on the weekend of September 9th.

01:00:53 That is according to the Ghana Football Association.

01:00:55 But one of the major challenges

01:00:57 that the competition has suffered

01:00:59 is a lack of support or the lack of patronage

01:01:02 of the competition at various march centers.

01:01:05 Well, according to a board member of Accra House of Hope,

01:01:08 Dr. Nyahonya Hotamaklo,

01:01:09 he feels that it is a performance of referees

01:01:12 that has caused, that is the major reason

01:01:15 why many fans are withdrawing from the competition.

01:01:18 He's called on the Ghana Football Association

01:01:20 to cut down the number of referees

01:01:22 who officiate at a flight.

01:01:24 - I think we have to do a lot

01:01:27 if we're getting one spectator

01:01:31 to start going to the stadium.

01:01:35 Um, what I believe should be done,

01:01:40 to me, what has put a lot of people

01:01:44 off from watching matches are the behavior of referees.

01:01:48 The referee should look for quality, not quantity.

01:01:56 There's no need to pack a season league

01:02:03 with a lot of referees.

01:02:04 If they can do that,

01:02:08 that definitely will bring some sort of sanity

01:02:10 into the game.

01:02:12 - To bring sanity to the game.

01:02:14 That is Dr. Nyahonya Hotamaklo

01:02:16 speaking during Joy Sports and the Joy Sports

01:02:19 taught leadership program on how to attract fans

01:02:23 back to the various stadiums

01:02:24 to watch Ghana Premier League match.

01:02:26 We appreciate your company.

01:02:28 (dramatic music)

01:02:31 - Welcome to our first conversation

01:02:57 welcome back on the AM Show.

01:02:58 We get into our big stories

01:03:00 and the tale of the tape

01:03:02 on the back of the domestic debt exchange program.

01:03:05 The Central Bank, the Bank of Ghana

01:03:07 lost upwards of 32.3 billion Ghana CDs.

01:03:10 The question is, with the Central Bank

01:03:14 taking that haircut to its principal,

01:03:18 was it being used as a sort of guinea pig,

01:03:21 scapegoat in this scenario?

01:03:24 Of course, the Bank of Ghana

01:03:25 has posted its losses on the back of the DDEP,

01:03:29 which has also ballooned our debt situation.

01:03:34 But has the Bank of Ghana been treated fairly?

01:03:37 What are the underlying dynamics

01:03:40 and what should we be looking forward to in future

01:03:42 in terms of responsibility moving forward?

01:03:46 The Bank of Ghana, the Central Bank itself,

01:03:49 per Dr. Ernest Addison,

01:03:50 has its own moves, proposals moving forward

01:03:53 in terms of dealing with any sums of money

01:03:58 that have to be given to government.

01:04:00 But joining me in the studio,

01:04:01 we have Isaac Kofi Ejei,

01:04:02 he is with our research desk,

01:04:07 our statistical and research desk, if I may.

01:04:10 And he joins us to give us further scoop on this matter.

01:04:14 Kofi, it's been a while since you joined me here.

01:04:16 - Yeah, yeah.

01:04:18 - You've been out and about.

01:04:19 - Yeah, it's good to be back.

01:04:21 - And this is our future,

01:04:22 should I say it on air?

01:04:24 - No, no, no.

01:04:24 - Okay, all right, we'll leave it there.

01:04:26 But tell us, what is the tale of the tape?

01:04:29 What is all of this going on with the Central Bank?

01:04:31 And this latest research by Mr. Itiahene and his group,

01:04:36 what really does it reveal?

01:04:39 - So the research paper looked into Bank of Ghana's,

01:04:42 you know, over 60 billion loss that it posted this year.

01:04:47 It looks as if this is somewhat unprecedented.

01:04:50 You have your central bank posting a loss of about 60 billion

01:04:54 but some of the literature that they reviewed,

01:04:56 if you look at the DDP done in other countries,

01:05:00 it looks as if this is something that every central bank

01:05:05 suffers when they do a domestic debt restructuring.

01:05:08 - Right.

01:05:09 - Simply because the whole restructuring

01:05:12 is in the domestic space, you know,

01:05:15 usually the central bank is somewhat used

01:05:19 as the guinea pig to write off

01:05:24 or to truncate some of the ballooning debts

01:05:29 of the government.

01:05:29 So Ben, I hope you remember that when we started

01:05:33 this whole debt exchange program, the talks,

01:05:35 the government wanted to restructure

01:05:37 more than 130 billion Ghana CDs.

01:05:41 But based on certain, you know, revisions that it did,

01:05:45 the targeted amount that government really wanted

01:05:47 to restructure was somewhere around 90 billion CDs.

01:05:52 So this research paper looked at what Bank of Ghana

01:05:55 is reported in their, you know, 2022 report

01:06:00 and analyze some of the things that they said

01:06:02 about their own books,

01:06:04 and then also made some recommendations and projections.

01:06:08 So we restructured 80 billion Ghana CDs.

01:06:12 And that's why we deemed

01:06:14 a domestic debt exchange program as successful.

01:06:16 - Right.

01:06:17 - If you do that-

01:06:18 - Because we weren't looking at 100%.

01:06:19 - Exactly.

01:06:20 We weren't looking at that huge, you know, percentage.

01:06:23 If you do the analysis, it simply tells you

01:06:26 that Bank of Ghana contributed more than 60%

01:06:30 of these amount that was restructured.

01:06:33 So it was Bank of Ghana, commercial banks,

01:06:35 securities and exchange companies,

01:06:38 individuals, individual bond holders, pension funds,

01:06:41 and so many other entities that participated

01:06:44 in this domestic debt exchange program.

01:06:47 But Bank of Ghana's own is a bit different

01:06:50 because remember we've been talking about haircuts

01:06:53 and the president was very categorical

01:06:54 that there will be no haircuts.

01:06:57 But it looks as if Bank of Ghana did not get only haircut

01:07:00 on principles per this research,

01:07:03 but got haircut on both principle and then also on interest.

01:07:08 - Right.

01:07:08 - So on principle, for instance,

01:07:10 Bank of Ghana had non-marketable instruments.

01:07:13 It took a haircut of almost 32.3 billion Ghana cities.

01:07:17 - Exactly.

01:07:18 - Marketable instruments, haircut was 16.1 billion

01:07:23 Ghana cities.

01:07:24 Cocoa board, haircut was 4.7 billion Ghana cities.

01:07:28 Price and exchange rate valuations,

01:07:30 you know, some of these things were 5.2 billion.

01:07:33 Interest expenses on cost of monetary policy was around,

01:07:37 you know, 3.1 billion, you know, Ghana cities.

01:07:42 If you add all of these, you know,

01:07:45 haircuts and then also exchange variations,

01:07:48 you realize that if you do the math,

01:07:51 it's somewhere around 61, 60.6--

01:07:55 - A little over 60 billion.

01:07:57 - Exactly.

01:07:57 And that's equivalent to the amount that Bank of Ghana,

01:08:01 you know, recorded as a loss in 2022.

01:08:05 So we asked a very simple question.

01:08:07 You are, you know, anticipating an inflow

01:08:11 of about $3 billion from the IMF.

01:08:14 And here lies the case, your central bank is posting

01:08:18 a loss of about, you know, $6 billion

01:08:21 as a result of a DDEP that you did.

01:08:23 - That's twice what you're looking for.

01:08:26 - Exactly.

01:08:27 - In terms of aid.

01:08:29 - In terms of aid.

01:08:30 So Bank of Ghana, you know, IMF giving you 3 billion,

01:08:33 but already, because of some of these conditions

01:08:36 that you had to meet to get this $3 billion,

01:08:39 you ended up constraining your central bank

01:08:42 to post a loss of, you know, $6 billion

01:08:47 that we're talking about here.

01:08:47 So currently, you know, that's what the research paper

01:08:51 looked at and is saying that going forward,

01:08:54 because of this huge loss, the central bank

01:08:57 will have difficulties in performing some of its,

01:09:00 you know, mandatory responsibility,

01:09:02 one of which is the moral swishing, you know,

01:09:05 whipping all commercial banks to tow a certain line.

01:09:09 And already, because of the DDEP,

01:09:11 Bank of Ghana has reduced so many of their requirements

01:09:14 that they request from these commercial banks.

01:09:17 So commercial banks are now keeping less money

01:09:20 with the Bank of Ghana because they need more liquidity

01:09:22 to loan out.

01:09:23 They've lost, most of them have lost their capital.

01:09:26 - What's that, the 400 million Ghana City requirement

01:09:30 and all of that?

01:09:31 All of those have been massaged to ensure

01:09:33 that the banks can stay afloat.

01:09:34 - Absolutely.

01:09:35 And if you do that, it means that the inflows

01:09:38 going to the central bank will be truncated.

01:09:41 And then also the central bank will not have

01:09:44 that financial or fiscal muscle to do certain things

01:09:48 that they do, especially with monetary policy tightening.

01:09:51 Because you yourself, you are in a situation

01:09:53 that you are battling the loss of about 60 billion.

01:09:57 You are only hoping that the economy will recover

01:10:00 so that these things will just fade into the system

01:10:02 and then that is it.

01:10:04 But if we wait and wait and these things are not happening,

01:10:09 it simply tells you that this money that's already

01:10:11 in the system, which some believe actually contributed

01:10:16 a lot to the over 44% inflation that we have,

01:10:21 it's all because of this huge expenditure.

01:10:25 So what happened here is that Bank of Ghana

01:10:27 gave an amount of 60 billion dollars to the government.

01:10:33 - 60 billion CD's.

01:10:35 - Anticipating that they use this money,

01:10:37 pay back and sometimes pay with interest.

01:10:41 Remember when COVID came, Bank of Ghana had to do

01:10:45 COVID-19 bonds, raised about 10 billion Ghana CD's

01:10:49 for government to spend.

01:10:51 All these monies have been restructured.

01:10:54 So simply put, the government went for monies

01:10:57 from central bank, could not pay.

01:10:59 And now this money is on the books of Bank of Ghana

01:11:03 and being recorded as lost.

01:11:04 And they are just anticipating that the economy

01:11:06 will get better so it fades into the system

01:11:09 and they do not, you know.

01:11:10 - I read something recently, I've forgotten exactly,

01:11:14 but the central bank's governor was saying something

01:11:16 about no longer giving money to government

01:11:20 but rather taking care of its own liquidity challenges.

01:11:25 And there's also the bit I'd like to find out,

01:11:28 was it just the Bank of Ghana, only the Bank of Ghana

01:11:31 that took a haircut on its principal?

01:11:34 - Yes, so what we have right now is only the Bank of Ghana

01:11:38 that suffered a double whammy.

01:11:40 So they took haircuts on principal and interest.

01:11:44 With other creditors, they had their instruments

01:11:48 restructured so maybe instead of you getting your money

01:11:51 in five years, two years, we give you a long maturity period

01:11:54 and also you suffer a haircut on your interest.

01:11:59 The coupon rates on average was around 18 and 19

01:12:02 but the revised one, we have between five to 10

01:12:06 and all of these things are haircuts.

01:12:07 So it was only the Bank of Ghana that suffered

01:12:11 a huge haircut on both principal and interest.

01:12:14 You're talking about the 0% financing

01:12:18 where Bank of Ghana has been put into this box

01:12:24 where it can no longer finance government activities.

01:12:27 So remember when governments needed money during COVID,

01:12:30 Bank of Ghana came in to issue bonds

01:12:33 and give it to governments.

01:12:34 This time around, it's not gonna be the same.

01:12:36 Government is supposed to spend within its means.

01:12:39 Bank of Ghana is supposed to also stay within its means

01:12:42 and not just come out to finance government expenditure

01:12:46 in a way that they did in 2022.

01:12:48 So Bank of Ghana in simple terms was used

01:12:52 as the shock absorber in the DDEP

01:12:56 that governments just carried out.

01:12:58 And we know that what looks like the second round

01:13:01 of the DDEP is underway

01:13:03 where independent power producers,

01:13:07 cocoa bills--

01:13:08 - Dollar denominated bonds.

01:13:09 - Exactly, pension funds,

01:13:11 all of these were excluded from the first session.

01:13:14 All of them have been asked to come back

01:13:16 to the negotiation table for fresh stocks

01:13:18 and then also for further restructuring.

01:13:20 So we are just hoping that governments will get,

01:13:23 will restructure or rework an additional

01:13:25 almost 13 billion Ghana cities

01:13:28 in addition to what they already had

01:13:30 somewhere in February 2023.

01:13:32 - Just to find out, how precarious is the situation?

01:13:35 Because of course, like you've mentioned,

01:13:37 if you do the math, the 60.8 billion Ghana cities,

01:13:40 it's just hovering around $6 billion.

01:13:43 We're taking 3 billion from the IMF

01:13:45 and even that is coming in branches, okay?

01:13:48 $900 million this year, among others.

01:13:53 How precarious a situation is this for us

01:13:55 from where you sit?

01:13:56 These are the, the finance minister saying,

01:13:59 "We've turned the corner."

01:14:00 I mean, what does this mean?

01:14:02 And what does it mean for our central bank?

01:14:04 Right before I go to Professor Lord Mensah,

01:14:06 because then again, we're talking about the fact

01:14:11 that this is where we find ourselves as a country,

01:14:14 but our central bank comparatively,

01:14:16 you mentioned that other countries

01:14:17 had also done their DBEP.

01:14:19 Did we take a much steeper hit

01:14:23 as far as our central bank is concerned?

01:14:24 - Yeah, of course.

01:14:25 - Compared to other countries?

01:14:26 - Yes, yes, yes.

01:14:26 So if you've restructured about 80 billion

01:14:29 in your central bank alone,

01:14:30 took a heck at almost 61 billion, you know,

01:14:34 Ghana cities and it tells you--

01:14:35 - That's a lot.

01:14:36 - That's a lot.

01:14:37 They took, you know--

01:14:38 - I mean, let's do the math.

01:14:41 That will be what?

01:14:42 So let's say 60 divided by 80--

01:14:46 - Times 100.

01:14:48 - That's more.

01:14:49 - That gives you 75%--

01:14:49 - 75%.

01:14:51 - Of the burden on the central bank.

01:14:53 - On the central bank.

01:14:54 And because of this, in fact,

01:14:56 the IMF saw all of these things,

01:14:59 and that's why they instituted the 0% financing.

01:15:02 It's not bad that the central bank financed,

01:15:05 you know, government expenditure,

01:15:07 but when you do it in a certain way

01:15:09 that has a tendency to affect inflation,

01:15:12 monetary policy rates, and all of those things,

01:15:15 that's when it becomes problematic.

01:15:17 So because of this, the central bank has been constrained

01:15:20 to be in a certain fiscal box.

01:15:23 And when government is in trouble,

01:15:25 it means that the central bank can no longer come in

01:15:28 to do some of those things.

01:15:29 Remember, the central bank is also, you know,

01:15:32 like an entity, you know,

01:15:34 that's supposed to engage in certain things

01:15:36 that will bring profits and all of those things.

01:15:39 So they posting a loss of about 60 billion

01:15:42 tells you that, in this case,

01:15:43 they're supposed to be the lender of last resort

01:15:45 for commercial banks.

01:15:47 And if the lender of last resort

01:15:49 is making a loss close to $6 billion,

01:15:53 then how does it, you know,

01:15:55 sponsor or take care of commercial banks

01:15:59 who may have difficulties and all of that?

01:16:01 - It means literally it's going to have to neglect

01:16:04 some of those responsibilities.

01:16:05 And interestingly, if you look at what the governor,

01:16:09 among others, and the deputies of the Bank of Ghana

01:16:11 are telling us, without this DDEP,

01:16:14 their losses would have been far less.

01:16:16 In fact, far less than 10 billion Ghana cities.

01:16:19 So it tells you what hole this DDEP

01:16:22 has dug the central bank into.

01:16:23 - Exactly, it's a very big hole, you know,

01:16:26 that the central bank, it will take a long time

01:16:28 for it to come out of this hole.

01:16:30 Because already the central bank,

01:16:33 technically, is being asked to save itself,

01:16:36 save government, save individuals,

01:16:39 save commercial banks and other institutions.

01:16:42 How do they do that when they themselves

01:16:44 already have this huge loss on their books?

01:16:48 And in fact, they are supposed to supervise

01:16:51 what they call the recapitalization of banks.

01:16:53 They themselves, they need--

01:16:55 - Recapitalization, they need capital.

01:16:57 Just stay with me briefly.

01:16:59 Let me bring in Professor Lord Mentor

01:17:01 and find out what his take is on this latest report.

01:17:06 Prof, a very good morning to you, sir.

01:17:09 - You can hear me.

01:17:10 Good morning to our viewers.

01:17:12 - Right, I don't know whether you've seen

01:17:14 the latest report, research piece put together

01:17:16 by Richard Tiahene together with some others.

01:17:21 But with what we've been discussing,

01:17:24 I also don't know whether you follow the conversation,

01:17:25 but the Bank of Ghana, the central bank,

01:17:28 took a hit on behalf of government

01:17:31 as far as the DDEP is concerned.

01:17:33 A 60.8 billion Ghana city hit.

01:17:37 If you look at the principal component of that,

01:17:40 just about 32 billion Ghana cities,

01:17:45 just for the principal.

01:17:46 And they also took a hit on their interest.

01:17:49 Interestingly, they are the only entity

01:17:51 that took a hit as far as the principal is concerned.

01:17:55 What do you make of how we've handled Ghana's DDEP?

01:18:00 These are what we've seen in other countries.

01:18:02 The exposure was not this much in other countries.

01:18:06 If you do the math for Ghana,

01:18:08 it means that with the 60.8 billion Ghana cities

01:18:12 that the central bank had to take as a loss,

01:18:15 it means they contributed 75%.

01:18:18 They took a hit on behalf of government.

01:18:21 What do you make of that?

01:18:22 - Yeah, so if you look at the government's net portfolio,

01:18:27 I mean, clearly, central bank was part of the portfolio.

01:18:32 And we are looking at a situation

01:18:35 where I would say for political reasons,

01:18:38 because government couldn't gather the confidence

01:18:41 to go all out as far as the DDEP is concerned.

01:18:45 And then before the DDEP,

01:18:48 the economic dip we find ourselves in,

01:18:52 if government should strike the DDEP

01:18:56 in such a way that it puts much burden on Ghanaians,

01:19:00 it would have been tough situation.

01:19:02 So government found it easier to deal with the Bank of Ghana

01:19:07 rather than coming to the pensions and other things

01:19:11 that individuals hold up investment in them.

01:19:16 So looking at a central bank

01:19:19 and then creditor of one entity, it became difficult.

01:19:24 It became easier for the government

01:19:28 to deal with the central bank

01:19:30 rather than negotiating with the banks

01:19:34 who are diversified in terms of their credit

01:19:37 to the government, dealing with the pensions,

01:19:40 who are also managing assets for those workers

01:19:45 and all sorts of investors in that manner.

01:19:49 So government saw it easier to deal with a central bank.

01:19:53 And as a central bank, you are running a balance sheet

01:19:57 which comes with liabilities

01:19:59 and then assets.

01:20:01 So central bank investing in government instrument,

01:20:06 well, sorry, giving a loan to government

01:20:08 was more or less like an assets they were holding.

01:20:11 So for government not to be able to pay them,

01:20:13 that it means their asset became impaired.

01:20:16 And that is why they're running at a loss.

01:20:19 So from where I sit,

01:20:20 I think the government found it easier

01:20:22 to deal with a central bank

01:20:24 rather than doing a DDP

01:20:29 that will cover all its creditors locally.

01:20:33 - But when you say that the government found it easier

01:20:35 to deal with a central bank,

01:20:36 does that mean government felt it was apt

01:20:41 to go for the low hanging fruit

01:20:43 and were the consequences worth it?

01:20:46 - Yeah, sure.

01:20:49 Because if you look at it carefully,

01:20:53 the Chinese were not used to the bond,

01:20:57 the credit card,

01:20:58 and it was even a new term to the investor community.

01:21:02 How many people understood what the credit card means

01:21:06 and what's the debt testing?

01:21:08 - Well, we have a bit of a connectivity problem

01:21:18 to Professor Lord Mensah.

01:21:20 Let me try one more time to see whether we can get him.

01:21:22 Prof, is the connection any better now?

01:21:25 It doesn't appear it is.

01:21:27 We'll try to get Prof back.

01:21:30 But like I was mentioning to him, Kofi,

01:21:34 indeed, it would appear then

01:21:36 that government decided to go for low hanging fruit,

01:21:39 the easiest possible mechanism

01:21:42 in terms of executing this DDP.

01:21:44 And that, of course, would be the central bank.

01:21:48 But with the hit that it had to take,

01:21:50 50% of a haircut on its principal alone,

01:21:53 that is a lot.

01:21:54 - So the IMF, they have a very simple description

01:21:58 of the whole exchange program or restructuring.

01:22:01 They say restructuring is like performing surgery.

01:22:05 You only do it when it is necessary.

01:22:08 And when you are doing it, it is easier.

01:22:10 You are performing that surgery

01:22:12 on someone in your domestic space.

01:22:15 Because with that, for instance, the Bank of Ghana,

01:22:19 if you are restructuring Bank of Ghana,

01:22:21 of all the creditors who were invited

01:22:24 to come and exchange their bonds,

01:22:26 you saw individual bondholders protesting.

01:22:29 We saw pension funds, organized labor against it,

01:22:32 IPPs against it.

01:22:34 But we never had Bank of Ghana saying,

01:22:36 "We will not be able to participate."

01:22:39 Because they know they form an integral part

01:22:41 of this whole setup.

01:22:44 And so, just like you put it,

01:22:45 it was a low hanging fruit for governments

01:22:48 to just go and restructure.

01:22:50 Because if you need that space,

01:22:52 the person to give you that very quick space

01:22:55 will be your own central bank.

01:22:56 And they look at the data and they realize that,

01:22:58 I mean, this restructuring that we even want to do,

01:23:02 and if you look at the people we are owing or our creditors,

01:23:07 our own central bank has about more than 50%

01:23:13 of this amount that we want to restructure.

01:23:15 So if we just do away with the central bank,

01:23:18 we've even done, we've cleared 50% of the bank.

01:23:20 - 50% of a hurdle is gone.

01:23:22 - Exactly, then we'll now find ways and means

01:23:24 to find other creditors and then capture that 30%

01:23:28 that we want.

01:23:29 And that is one of the reasons why the government

01:23:33 or the finance ministry felt it was so easy to go

01:23:36 and then restructure the Bank of Ghana,

01:23:39 their instrument and all of those things.

01:23:40 And if you look at the fact that they were the only

01:23:44 institution that suffered double haircut,

01:23:47 it tells you that they were internal opposition.

01:23:51 That's, I mean, if you want to do then give us a cushion.

01:23:55 I mean, from probably from commercial banks

01:23:57 or other entities saying that Bank of Ghana

01:24:02 is the one holding most of your assets

01:24:06 or most of your bonds.

01:24:07 If you restructure us, if you give us double haircut

01:24:11 in terms of principal and then also interest,

01:24:13 it means that we'll find ourselves in a very tight

01:24:16 situation where we have to go back to Bank of Ghana

01:24:18 for liquidity.

01:24:19 So why don't you tackle Bank of Ghana for instance,

01:24:22 give them the haircut, give us only haircut on interest

01:24:25 so that same Bank of Ghana can come in

01:24:27 to give us sort of recapitalization when we are in trouble.

01:24:30 So facts, it was a low hanging fruit

01:24:33 and that's why government decided to pluck it

01:24:35 the way that they did.

01:24:36 - In terms of addressing the ongoing, I mean, the losses,

01:24:42 because now it has taken the hit that it has

01:24:44 and we're looking at another round of debt exchange.

01:24:49 I don't know how, what role is the central bank

01:24:53 going to play in all of this in the second round?

01:24:57 - So this time around central bank,

01:24:59 they've already restructured.

01:25:00 - 'Cause if you look at the COCO, the COCO bid,

01:25:03 they took a hit initially in the first round.

01:25:07 And now we also know that the COCO bills are again

01:25:09 under scrutiny.

01:25:10 - The first one was COCO board,

01:25:12 the second one is COCO bills.

01:25:14 So COCO bills usually are the foreign influence

01:25:18 we have to just buy COCO here in Ghana.

01:25:21 And most of the times that is what the government's use

01:25:23 as a buffer or something to show up the budgets

01:25:28 when we find ourselves in a very tight situation.

01:25:30 So remember in 2022, we were kicked out

01:25:33 of the international fund market, we lost access,

01:25:35 let me put it that way.

01:25:36 And the average 3 billion we're getting every year,

01:25:40 3 billion dollars that we're getting every year

01:25:42 to show up our budget, we're not getting it.

01:25:45 And it was a COCO bills plus other loans,

01:25:48 the 75 million that came in and all of those things

01:25:51 that saved the country.

01:25:53 And already foreign investors who came to this country

01:25:58 to buy bonds with their own monies in terms of dollars

01:26:03 have also been restructured.

01:26:04 So it means that the government is telling all creditors

01:26:10 that nobody's being excluded this time around.

01:26:13 The only people probably who have 100% exemption

01:26:16 is treasury bills.

01:26:18 But mind you that even in the exchange memorandum,

01:26:21 government says, this is the initial exchange.

01:26:26 It probably tells you that there's gonna be a time

01:26:28 that governments will call for other exchange.

01:26:30 The finance minister mentioned it again.

01:26:32 - When you say call for other exchange,

01:26:35 what are you hinting at?

01:26:36 - Exactly, so remember pension funds, IPPs, COCO bills,

01:26:41 all of them were given 100% exemption.

01:26:46 Government gave them the assurance, 100% HURI.

01:26:49 But after-- - And in some cases

01:26:51 they have to fight for it. - Exactly.

01:26:52 After the first restructuring,

01:26:55 which the success rate was 80%,

01:26:58 now you have that same government coming to these creditors

01:27:02 and saying, come back, we gave you exemption.

01:27:06 But this time around, we are calling for a new exchange,

01:27:09 come.

01:27:10 The new exchange is a new exchange

01:27:11 because they probably may have different terms

01:27:13 compared to the first one that we did.

01:27:17 So this is a new exchange.

01:27:18 And all of these people have access to tell government

01:27:21 their terms and all of those things.

01:27:24 There possibly will be another exchange

01:27:28 where other creditors will be asked to come back.

01:27:32 And I don't know if the further exchanges

01:27:35 or the subsequent ones, we include the Bank of Ghana,

01:27:40 will also be called to come back

01:27:42 to the negotiation table.

01:27:43 I do not know.

01:27:44 But what I know is that there was an initial

01:27:47 domestic debt exchange program

01:27:49 that was deemed successful at 80%.

01:27:52 The finance minister is now calling on other creditors

01:27:56 to come for another exchange, a second round.

01:27:59 They call it alternative debt restructuring,

01:28:02 but I choose to call it second round

01:28:04 because you already closed the first one.

01:28:07 And so if you are doing another,

01:28:08 then it tells you that this is the second round.

01:28:11 - And we do not know just how painful

01:28:13 this second round is going to be

01:28:15 because already the sector has been squeezed into a corner

01:28:19 and the few that have been left out, so to speak,

01:28:22 are also going to suffer these shocks,

01:28:23 which could mean that the impact on the economy

01:28:26 could lead to further strain on pockets.

01:28:28 But before I come back to you,

01:28:30 and I'd like us to do a bit of a comparative study.

01:28:33 I mean, we've seen what happened,

01:28:34 per Dr. Chiahane's report.

01:28:37 We've seen what has happened in the Czech Republic,

01:28:39 in Hungary, in Brazil, in Chile.

01:28:41 I want you to look at some of those dynamics

01:28:43 from the 1990s versus what we are doing now.

01:28:46 And let's see what the comparatives are from there.

01:28:50 But let me come to you, Professor Mensah.

01:28:53 You were making the point about the low-hanging fruit

01:28:58 and maybe what the consequences thereof are.

01:29:01 Please go ahead, sir.

01:29:02 - Yeah, it's about them, the consequence.

01:29:07 I mean, we're looking at the situation

01:29:09 where you want to do debt restructuring.

01:29:12 At the end of the day, your investor community

01:29:14 don't really understand what it takes

01:29:17 to get a debt structured.

01:29:20 And then also remember,

01:29:21 we're handling the debt exchange on time

01:29:26 because we needed the IMF program

01:29:29 within the shortest possible time

01:29:30 when we were going through the first restructuring.

01:29:33 And so looking at the credit composition,

01:29:37 obviously the central bank is going to be

01:29:40 one of the major creditors that is supposed to take a cut

01:29:45 because government was finding it difficult

01:29:48 to convince the investor community

01:29:51 the essence of the debt restructuring.

01:29:53 And that is why possibly the central bank had to come in

01:29:57 to absorb the kind of shocks that is expected.

01:30:01 Because if you look at debt restructuring

01:30:04 and you are running it across the creditor space,

01:30:08 then obviously your target of debt to be structured

01:30:13 should have been spread across all the creditors.

01:30:16 But here is the case,

01:30:17 some of the creditors were not interested

01:30:18 in the debt restructuring.

01:30:21 So government had no choice

01:30:22 that we go to the central bank

01:30:24 to take up that big hectare.

01:30:27 - And in terms of the cost of this,

01:30:32 because like we've been deliberating upon in the studio,

01:30:35 we have gone to the IMF for 3 billion,

01:30:38 a kitty that will come over time.

01:30:41 This year we are getting 900 million,

01:30:43 600 million already in the bag,

01:30:44 300 million at the latter part of the year,

01:30:47 sometime in September thereabouts.

01:30:50 But the debt overhang for the central bank alone

01:30:54 is twice as much, $6 billion.

01:30:58 I mean, if you look at the 60.8 billion Ghana cities

01:31:01 and you just use 10 cities to the dollar,

01:31:05 you're getting $6 billion.

01:31:09 What is going to be the impact of this

01:31:10 in terms of the central bank,

01:31:12 its own activities within the banking sector

01:31:15 and even the regulation of the banks?

01:31:18 Because now it has had to massage some of the regulations

01:31:22 just so the banks can stay afloat.

01:31:24 What does this really imply?

01:31:26 - Yeah, I mean, the impact is so huge.

01:31:30 And there is that kind of,

01:31:32 we have economic impact

01:31:35 and then we also have psychological impact.

01:31:38 The central bank that is supposed to be a lender

01:31:41 of last resort, it seems to be taking a loss

01:31:45 on its balance sheet.

01:31:46 Obviously it tells you that in a situation

01:31:49 where a bank is getting impaired,

01:31:51 a central bank which is supposed to come for a rescue

01:31:55 may not be in a good position to take up that rescue.

01:31:59 Another thing--

01:32:00 - Are you suggesting the central bank,

01:32:03 the rescuer needs rescuing?

01:32:05 Is that what you're saying?

01:32:06 - Of course, that's how it is.

01:32:08 Because when it turns out that your balance sheet

01:32:11 is being impaired,

01:32:13 and you are supposed to be the rescuer for the banks

01:32:18 in case they fall in trouble,

01:32:20 it will be difficult for the central bank to play that role

01:32:24 as we speak now.

01:32:25 But I know over time things are going to work out well,

01:32:29 because I mean, taking a loss,

01:32:32 it's one of the economic aids.

01:32:33 And usually what happens is that,

01:32:37 when executive power,

01:32:39 sometimes the government can trigger the central bank

01:32:43 to come in for its rescue,

01:32:44 but that central bank is no more,

01:32:46 we don't have it anymore.

01:32:48 And then another thing we may have to look at is,

01:32:51 the trust that is built between the central bank

01:32:55 and the external agencies,

01:32:57 that trust is gone.

01:32:58 And that is why, if you look into the IMF program,

01:33:02 we are being forced to do zero financing

01:33:05 from the central bank.

01:33:06 The government is supposed to do zero financing.

01:33:09 Under normal circumstance,

01:33:11 the central bank is supposed to always come in

01:33:14 to hold up the government financing

01:33:18 between usually from January to March.

01:33:22 That is when we are about to run up the fiscal year

01:33:26 before the tax inflows start tickling in

01:33:30 for that particular year.

01:33:32 So that financing gap is always needed from the central bank.

01:33:36 But here is the case, because of what happened,

01:33:39 we are being forced to do zero financing.

01:33:42 It used to be somewhere, 5%.

01:33:45 Now, what is happening on the ground

01:33:47 seem to give me a sense of direction.

01:33:50 And the sense of direction,

01:33:51 looking at how we took out

01:33:54 the Fiscal Responsibility Act, right?

01:33:58 That was limiting the central bank's lending

01:34:00 to the government.

01:34:01 And then we took it out and we never replace it

01:34:05 because I was expecting that,

01:34:08 during the COVID, which in the act,

01:34:10 it gives room for the government

01:34:12 to ask for a step aside of the act.

01:34:15 And once we come out from the situation,

01:34:18 the act comes back.

01:34:19 But as we speak now,

01:34:21 the finance minister has not gone to parliament

01:34:23 to restore the act.

01:34:25 And so that gave the finance minister room

01:34:28 to borrow from the central bank unnecessarily.

01:34:32 And so from where I sit,

01:34:33 I...

01:34:34 It's unfortunate, we appear to be losing

01:34:41 Professor Mensah one more time.

01:34:43 We'll try to reconnect with him

01:34:45 so he can make those crucial points

01:34:47 he was about to make.

01:34:49 But Kofi, so I was talking about the comparative.

01:34:53 And I also want us to look at the reasons

01:34:56 cited by this research piece

01:34:58 in terms of why the central bank incurred those losses.

01:35:01 But per what you know, comparatively at least,

01:35:05 just basic comparison between what other entities

01:35:08 have done in the past and what we are doing now,

01:35:11 are there any linkages?

01:35:12 Have we overshot it as far as our central bank is concerned?

01:35:15 - Well, so there's a clear variation between--

01:35:19 - Disparity.

01:35:20 - Yeah, what they did and what we did

01:35:23 to the extent that we handle this whole situation

01:35:27 as a unilateral decision.

01:35:30 So you see the finance ministry bringing out measures,

01:35:34 bringing out MOUs, Memorandum of Understanding

01:35:37 and all of those things and says, take it.

01:35:40 In some cases, it's a take it or leave it.

01:35:43 - You get it.

01:35:44 - But with--

01:35:44 - And in this instance, just to add,

01:35:47 in recent times, is it Dr. Amin, Adam?

01:35:50 We've heard from him as well,

01:35:52 as far as the IPP situation is concerned,

01:35:54 saying that if you don't take this,

01:35:56 then you might as well forfeit everything.

01:35:59 So it appears we're continuing on that trajectory.

01:36:02 - So if you look at all these countries

01:36:04 that the research paper listed,

01:36:06 all of these countries, especially Jamaica,

01:36:10 all of them made sure that the whole debt restructuring talks

01:36:13 were bilateral.

01:36:15 So wherever you are dealing with,

01:36:17 you have to know that there's a difference

01:36:19 between a commercial bank and an insurance company.

01:36:23 There's also a difference between an insurance company

01:36:26 and an individual who just bought bonds.

01:36:28 An individual who just bought bonds can be a pensioner,

01:36:32 can have, he or she has his money,

01:36:34 and a pension fund also has personal money

01:36:36 that he or she has used to buy bonds.

01:36:39 So you have to do all of these comparative analysis.

01:36:43 And to the extent that going into this whole

01:36:46 debt exchange program, it looks as if Bank of Ghana

01:36:50 did not do due diligence.

01:36:53 - The Bank of Ghana, it appears, did not do due diligence.

01:36:55 - In terms of the magnitude of the hit

01:36:59 that we're going to have as a country.

01:37:02 Because if you do all of these calculations,

01:37:05 you realize, just like the IMF said,

01:37:08 it's like a surgery.

01:37:11 You only do it when it is necessary.

01:37:14 It means you may have done your cost-benefit analysis,

01:37:17 and you know that going into this,

01:37:20 there's a number of years that I will heal.

01:37:23 This is the money that I'm going to get.

01:37:25 But we only looked at this whole debt exchange program

01:37:29 as just a condition to get three billion.

01:37:33 Because we're in a very difficult situation

01:37:35 where we needed foreign exchange.

01:37:38 - And now we find ourselves in a six billion dollar hole.

01:37:43 And the question is, did we go or did we come?

01:37:46 And how do we get out of this?

01:37:47 - So if we had done all of these cost-benefit analysis

01:37:52 that other countries did, because if you compare,

01:37:55 for instance, Brazil in 1997,

01:37:58 the amount, the loss that they made,

01:38:01 the central bank made during that time,

01:38:03 is way, way lower than you can say maybe

01:38:06 exchange rate differentiation, all of those things.

01:38:08 But if you do, how do you call it,

01:38:11 a covariance analysis, you realize that it's very low

01:38:15 in terms of what Brazil--

01:38:16 - Insignificant, a drop in the bucket compared to ours.

01:38:18 Just hold for me.

01:38:19 We have Professor Mentah back on the line,

01:38:22 back connecting with us.

01:38:23 Prof, so I mean, you were making a point

01:38:26 and then that got truncated.

01:38:28 But the issue has arisen, I just posed that question

01:38:31 to my colleague here, Isaac Ofiyeje,

01:38:33 on whether due diligence had been done,

01:38:36 sufficient due diligence from the central bank's standpoint.

01:38:39 He doesn't think so.

01:38:40 What do you think?

01:38:41 Because if we look at the losses comparatively,

01:38:44 compared to other countries in the '90s, Brazil, Chile,

01:38:47 and then other countries down the road,

01:38:49 I mean, from Germany to Korea to even the United States

01:38:53 and the rest, this is humongous to say the least.

01:38:56 What's your take?

01:38:57 - We are comparing debt issues across countries.

01:39:04 We may have to be careful because at the time

01:39:09 we were going into the debt restructuring,

01:39:12 what was our debt to GDP ratio?

01:39:14 I mean, compared to those countries that we are relating

01:39:19 the economic loss as far as the GDP is concerned too.

01:39:23 So from, I believe that the due diligence

01:39:27 as we talking about, whatever the case may be,

01:39:31 if the country is in trouble,

01:39:34 obviously everything must fall on the central bank.

01:39:37 - Yeah, yeah, I get that point.

01:39:40 But even then, some level of responsibility

01:39:45 must be attached to it.

01:39:46 Because like we're pointing out,

01:39:47 if you are funding, you are getting funding

01:39:50 for a $3 billion gap,

01:39:52 and you are creating a $6 billion debt,

01:39:55 I mean, that's like a period victory.

01:39:57 Ordinarily, it means, it doesn't make any sense, does it?

01:40:00 - Yeah, I mean, of course,

01:40:02 once you are going into a true economic decision,

01:40:05 you may have to look at the benefits

01:40:07 that you intend to reap, and then you look at the cost.

01:40:11 Now, the benefit, we may not take it as one of,

01:40:15 which we're going to get 3 billion.

01:40:17 The 3 billion has some externalities that comes with it.

01:40:20 In terms of finance, yes, we are getting 3 billion.

01:40:24 What about getting the 3 billion,

01:40:27 and then having the economy being stabilized,

01:40:30 and then economic activities flowing?

01:40:33 That should go a long way to exceed

01:40:36 the 6 billion that we are looking at.

01:40:39 So I'm really careful to look at it

01:40:42 from the one-off situation,

01:40:44 because, I mean, it is an economic decision.

01:40:47 There is a financial benefit,

01:40:49 but there is also externalities

01:40:51 that comes with that 3 billion.

01:40:54 Those externalities could be having a stable economy,

01:40:58 and then the possible inflows

01:41:00 that you get from the stable economy.

01:41:03 Let's look at it on the counter side.

01:41:05 If we're not to go by the debt restructuring,

01:41:09 what would have happened to this country?

01:41:11 The economy would have crunched,

01:41:12 the economy would have drained out completely,

01:41:16 everything would have been frozen,

01:41:18 and then we look at the impact relative to the 6 billion.

01:41:22 So from where I sit, if you look at it one-off,

01:41:25 you'll be tempted to say that, yes, indeed,

01:41:27 we're getting 3 billion,

01:41:29 and then we are losing 6 billion.

01:41:32 But let's look at the economic externalities

01:41:35 that will come after we've got the IMF program,

01:41:39 and then the conditionalities that goes with it.

01:41:42 With the IMF program, it's going to limit the government

01:41:44 in terms of its borrowing.

01:41:46 As a result of that,

01:41:47 reducing in interest rates is likely to come up

01:41:50 going forward.

01:41:51 You know, with the IMF program,

01:41:53 financial discipline is going to be restored

01:41:56 for the next three years.

01:41:57 These are all things that have a tendency

01:42:00 of making good impact on the economy.

01:42:02 Remember, the Ghanaian economy is always in such a way

01:42:05 that anytime we find it with ourself with IMF,

01:42:08 that is when we see good economic indicators.

01:42:13 - But how does all of this impact our debt stock,

01:42:16 which on the back of the DDEP and the central bank's losses

01:42:20 have now hit close to 600 billion Ghana CDs?

01:42:24 Yes, we are making some gains,

01:42:26 but then how much more are we losing?

01:42:28 - Yeah, so you had a central bank waving off some debt

01:42:32 as far as government credit is concerned.

01:42:35 And so, yes, we've taken up a hit.

01:42:39 And as a result of that,

01:42:42 international credibility,

01:42:44 as far as our central bank is concerned,

01:42:46 has been compromised one way or the other.

01:42:49 So now, if any country is dealing with

01:42:52 the Ghanaian central bank,

01:42:54 they're going to be careful, one way or the other,

01:42:56 as far as the credit task base is concerned.

01:43:00 If you're going to rank central bank

01:43:02 and give them credit rating,

01:43:04 I can tell you that our central bank

01:43:07 is going to get a very low credit rating.

01:43:10 Not just because the Ghanaian economy is not doing well,

01:43:14 but for the purpose of taking that decision

01:43:17 of printing money to the government, to that tune.

01:43:21 And so, obviously, I mean, it's bound

01:43:26 that the central bank has lost that credibility.

01:43:31 - So the central bank has lost that credibility,

01:43:33 and you see that when central banks are rated,

01:43:37 and of course, that also impacts the banks themselves

01:43:39 within the country,

01:43:42 the rating is going to be pretty low.

01:43:43 But that begs the questions then,

01:43:45 and I'm going to put three of them together.

01:43:48 How sticky is the situation we find ourselves in?

01:43:52 How does the Bank of Ghana extricate itself

01:43:55 from this quagmire, the mud it finds itself in?

01:43:58 How long will it take?

01:43:59 - You see, Bank of Ghana,

01:44:02 let me tell you one thing.

01:44:06 You know, we dub the Bank of Ghana as an independent body,

01:44:11 which is supposed to make sure

01:44:14 that we have financial stability in our economy,

01:44:17 and also control prices.

01:44:19 But then we have to look at the independence in two ways.

01:44:24 When it comes to the governance independence,

01:44:27 Bank of Ghana never had that governance independence,

01:44:31 and that was a very risky thing

01:44:32 that we're trading on as a country.

01:44:35 Bank of Ghana had, you know,

01:44:37 one way or the other, operational independence,

01:44:39 and that has even been compromised

01:44:41 because of the printing of money to the government

01:44:44 in the current situation we find ourselves in.

01:44:47 You know, the governance independence has been compromised

01:44:52 because of our constitution.

01:44:53 You know, the constitution mandate the president

01:44:55 to appoint a governor, which one way or the other,

01:44:59 the kind of relationship that the president

01:45:01 and then the governor may have can influence decisions,

01:45:05 and that is exactly what has happened to, you know,

01:45:08 the situation they find themselves in now.

01:45:11 So Bank of Ghana, that kind of independence,

01:45:14 which is operational independence that they were enjoying,

01:45:16 has been compromised, and I believe that, you know,

01:45:20 going forward, any governor that is going to be appointed,

01:45:23 the governor must state it clear to the president

01:45:26 that he should allow him to do his job, you know,

01:45:30 rather than interfering one way or the other.

01:45:32 So I think it has to do with, you know,

01:45:35 the structure of our financial system,

01:45:38 all the way from the way we appoint

01:45:40 the central bank governor,

01:45:41 and then the operations of the Bank of Ghana.

01:45:44 If you go to the Bank of Ghana's board as we speak now,

01:45:47 government, I mean, membership,

01:45:49 constitutes about three of them,

01:45:52 and which, I mean, they will have influence,

01:45:54 and including the governor himself,

01:45:56 who is the, you know, who is the chairman of that board.

01:46:00 So I think, you know,

01:46:03 it has to do with the structure that we have.

01:46:05 And like you're asking me how sticky it is,

01:46:08 if we don't take care and we don't restructure

01:46:11 the way and manner the Bank of Ghana operates,

01:46:14 it will go a long way to have problems.

01:46:18 And, you know, it's clearly stated in the literature.

01:46:21 Any country that the central bank's independence

01:46:26 is compromised, there's no way that country, you know,

01:46:29 is able to control inflation

01:46:30 and then build up into interest rate, you know, structures.

01:46:34 - Before I move on to Dr. Etieh-Henek,

01:46:39 just a quick one, because we look at

01:46:41 the report that has been provided.

01:46:45 We look at the three core dynamics

01:46:48 that led to where the Bank of Ghana finds itself.

01:46:51 One, it states market security is valued

01:46:55 at 16.1 billion Ghana Cs,

01:46:57 held by the central bank, sold at an inferior value, okay?

01:47:00 So they were sold for less than the cost

01:47:04 at which they were procured.

01:47:05 Then second, losses occurred because of the 50% haircut

01:47:09 of non-market debt of 64.5 billion Ghana Cs.

01:47:13 We've already spoken about that.

01:47:15 And third, there was a revaluation

01:47:17 of foreign exchange holdings.

01:47:18 That is the domestic currency devalued

01:47:20 against reserve currencies.

01:47:21 This also likely leading to a loss.

01:47:25 Are you in agreement with these three core areas

01:47:29 or thematic areas?

01:47:30 And do you feel they were handled properly in the DDEP?

01:47:34 Quick reaction to that.

01:47:36 - It has to do with, you know,

01:47:38 the Bank of Ghana's balance sheet.

01:47:41 If you look at a balance sheet clearly,

01:47:43 those things that you mentioned,

01:47:45 they all form part of the asset.

01:47:47 And once you value and then you more or less put up,

01:47:51 you know, your asset on the market below market value,

01:47:55 I mean, there's no way you can make up,

01:47:57 you know, your liabilities.

01:47:58 And so clearly, I do agree with that.

01:48:00 It's purely, you know, balance sheet situation.

01:48:03 Foreign exchange, you know, issues,

01:48:06 a possibility of taking up, you know, liabilities

01:48:10 that you are not getting asset to match up with it.

01:48:12 And so clearly, it has to do with operations

01:48:15 of the Bank of Ghana.

01:48:16 And I do side with the three points

01:48:18 that has been raised in the report.

01:48:20 - Hold for me, Prof.

01:48:22 Let me bring in Dr. Richmond Etyahine.

01:48:24 He's a banking consultant.

01:48:25 He's one of those behind this latest research.

01:48:29 Doc, good morning.

01:48:31 - Good morning, Ben.

01:48:32 How are you, sir?

01:48:33 - I am okay.

01:48:34 I'm hanging in there.

01:48:35 I hope you're well.

01:48:36 - I'm just hanging in as you're hanging in.

01:48:39 - Okay, then it's a lot of hanging

01:48:41 that we're going to be doing.

01:48:41 If you're hanging and I'm hanging,

01:48:43 I don't know, Kofi Eje, are you hanging?

01:48:45 - I'm very much still hanging.

01:48:46 - Yeah, very much.

01:48:47 (laughing)

01:48:48 Anyway, let's get into the detail

01:48:50 because guess what?

01:48:51 The central bank is also hanging

01:48:53 per the latest report that you've put out there.

01:48:56 But comparatively, we've been looking

01:48:58 at different central banks

01:49:00 and what they've done in the past

01:49:01 in their own debt exchange programs

01:49:03 vis-a-vis what we have done.

01:49:06 Our risk, I mean, the exposure of the Bank of Ghana, 75%.

01:49:11 Was that apt?

01:49:12 Did we overshoot it?

01:49:13 Have we put the central bank in a very negative position?

01:49:19 - Well, in the view of the corresponding banks

01:49:23 and the other partners,

01:49:25 we have put them in a very,

01:49:28 not very pleasant position at all.

01:49:32 It doesn't look very good in the eyes

01:49:34 of those they deal with,

01:49:35 like the Fed and the Bank of England

01:49:38 and the Bundesbank and the Swiss and the France.

01:49:43 I mean, it's not good in the face of them.

01:49:46 But from our perspective,

01:49:49 the way they use this policy solvency from us is okay

01:49:54 because you're speaking to us.

01:49:57 We are not part of the central banking system.

01:50:00 So from the policy stance,

01:50:02 from Ghana's point of view,

01:50:03 there is nothing wrong about what has happened.

01:50:05 - But if you look at the dynamic

01:50:09 that we've been speaking of,

01:50:10 what the loss is in dollar terms

01:50:14 compared to what we are getting from the IMF.

01:50:16 We did all of this partly or largely

01:50:20 to secure an IMF program.

01:50:22 Now it has left us with a $6 billion debt overhang.

01:50:25 If you look at the 60.8 billion Ghana cities

01:50:28 that we're looking at.

01:50:29 What does that do then to the central bank comparatively?

01:50:34 Three billion for six billion.

01:50:36 That leaves us still with a loss of another three billion.

01:50:39 - Thank you, Ben.

01:50:43 I think this is the question that each and every one,

01:50:46 those of us who do a lot of research think that.

01:50:50 If we have done our stress testing or scenario testing,

01:50:55 this thing would have come out clear at the beginning

01:50:59 and we would have known the consequences.

01:51:01 And if you do the stress testing

01:51:04 and you put the various variables in the model,

01:51:07 it tells you that you're going to destroy yourself

01:51:11 by six billion.

01:51:12 You're gonna get only three billion.

01:51:16 That is not even the whole story.

01:51:19 If you look at the banking sector,

01:51:20 that one was 41.3 billion cities.

01:51:25 If you also convert that one,

01:51:27 if you add the two, you're talking close to 10 billion.

01:51:30 And if you go for three billion,

01:51:33 are you really doing some justice to yourself?

01:51:36 So the question that comes in to me

01:51:38 and those of us who have been looking at it

01:51:42 is that did we do our homework very well?

01:51:45 Because the way we move quickly with these things,

01:51:47 I think it was too much, it was not,

01:51:51 it was coercive instead of people trying to understand

01:51:55 what the finance minister was doing.

01:51:58 Unfortunately, we all allow it to happen.

01:52:01 And then now the consequences that we have.

01:52:04 We have consequences on the central bank,

01:52:06 we have consequences on the banking sector,

01:52:09 and it's not very pleasant at all

01:52:12 because the regulator is supposed to regulate,

01:52:16 is also coming under pressure.

01:52:19 I mean, so how is he going to regulate?

01:52:21 So for me, it all started when the EDP started

01:52:26 and they're talking of going for loans from IMF support.

01:52:31 I think we should have done,

01:52:33 which when you say they have done,

01:52:35 is that what scenario test did they do?

01:52:38 What stress testing?

01:52:40 And I want them to come out to tell us,

01:52:41 this is what we did and this is because,

01:52:44 Ben, when it started in November,

01:52:46 myself and Evans Menza,

01:52:48 I came out with stress testing and scenario

01:52:51 to tell that if you do this, it will happen.

01:52:53 If you do that, I have the word there.

01:52:55 But when you say it, Ben,

01:52:57 they were thinking that I was a joker.

01:53:00 But you see, I took my time,

01:53:02 used the money to produce my results

01:53:05 to challenge where we were going.

01:53:07 But nobody listened to me.

01:53:08 - And now, in a way, you've been proven right.

01:53:12 So your suspicion then,

01:53:14 is that the central bank did not do

01:53:16 the correct stress testing to see

01:53:20 where we could end up in all of this,

01:53:22 because you cannot embark on a DDEP

01:53:24 without having gone through that system.

01:53:25 Or likely, due diligence wasn't done.

01:53:28 Or maybe, doc, all these were done,

01:53:31 but we still went ahead willy-nilly

01:53:34 because of a certain picture we wanted to portray.

01:53:38 What do you think?

01:53:39 - Well, your last statement would be right.

01:53:42 We wanted to portray a certain statement.

01:53:44 So we wouldn't even think about

01:53:46 the consequences and the implications.

01:53:48 So that is where we find ourselves.

01:53:49 Because originally, when they said

01:53:52 we didn't want a haircut,

01:53:53 I remember the statement was made categorically,

01:53:57 that Ghana is not going to face a haircut.

01:53:59 But you see, when you talk about haircut,

01:54:02 it depends upon what you mean by haircut.

01:54:04 Even with the DDEP, if it's a haircut,

01:54:07 because you have reduced the value of people's investments.

01:54:11 So that is a haircut.

01:54:12 But the word haircut, if you use the word haircut,

01:54:16 people thought it was too harsh.

01:54:18 But if you do your haircut with 20%,

01:54:20 as I did with 20, 30%,

01:54:22 we would have been in a better position

01:54:25 than we have somebody who's going for 50% haircut.

01:54:28 So Ben, I would always say that

01:54:30 we need to always use the data and science.

01:54:33 I like the people who say data and science.

01:54:36 Data and science.

01:54:37 So that we can always predict.

01:54:39 So that when it comes to hit us,

01:54:41 then we are not shocked or we are not worried.

01:54:45 And also we must be transparent.

01:54:47 Another one is transparency.

01:54:48 Transparency, getting people to understand

01:54:51 what you're doing.

01:54:53 Don't put it in a mystery form,

01:54:55 that as if you are the only person who understands.

01:54:58 That is a problem that we have.

01:55:00 People think that when they do it,

01:55:02 other people cannot say it.

01:55:04 Let me even keep you in distance.

01:55:06 People talk about non-marketable, non-marketable.

01:55:09 What is non-marketable?

01:55:10 I was explaining in one of your presentation.

01:55:13 It is government accommodation,

01:55:16 which what you call government accommodation finance.

01:55:20 Whereby the Bank of Ghana finance the government

01:55:24 to 64.5 billion, 64.6 billion.

01:55:28 And people will use English.

01:55:29 They say, non-marketable market.

01:55:32 They're not marketable.

01:55:33 It's the government finance.

01:55:35 The marketable is the bond,

01:55:37 which was only 16.1 billion.

01:55:39 So if you use the word that everything has been

01:55:44 haircut by that and this, I find it quite interesting.

01:55:48 So that is where I'm saying,

01:55:49 let's as a way to transparency.

01:55:51 And let us work with objectivity.

01:55:53 And base, objectivity based on fear, science and data.

01:55:58 If we don't, we're not going to have these challenge

01:56:00 as we are experiencing in our bank.

01:56:02 - Now, some have dismissed these losses

01:56:05 by the Bank of Ghana.

01:56:06 Others have said that, look, if we don't take care,

01:56:08 it could weaken the very independence of our central bank.

01:56:13 So do these losses really matter

01:56:16 in the short, medium and long-term?

01:56:19 What could be the impact?

01:56:21 - Well, it depends on which angle you're speaking from.

01:56:24 People were saying that they have decided,

01:56:26 as I have cited about seven countries or eight countries,

01:56:30 they were able to continue with the central bank.

01:56:32 But if you're talking about Bank of England,

01:56:35 I mean, and you're talking about Fed,

01:56:37 even Fed, if Fed is holding a negative capital,

01:56:41 it is not a big news.

01:56:43 Because they can prove to you that

01:56:46 during the quantitative easing,

01:56:47 we supported the economy so much

01:56:50 and the economy has turned around.

01:56:51 And look at the American economy.

01:56:53 It has turned around so much that inflation

01:56:55 is one of the lowest in the world at the moment.

01:56:58 Even England, inflation is no more than 6%.

01:57:01 So they're all getting their things right.

01:57:03 But if you say you have done this

01:57:05 and the inflation is running,

01:57:07 you have supported the economy

01:57:08 and inflation is running at 41, 42.5%,

01:57:11 I begin to worry about what is this is.

01:57:14 Now, the main question is that

01:57:16 on the eyes of we Ghanaians,

01:57:18 you can say policy stance, we are strong to do it, yes.

01:57:22 But how do people see you?

01:57:24 And again, if it's not well managed,

01:57:26 I mean, if you look at the world,

01:57:28 IMF countries, 23, 1, 6, 8.

01:57:32 It says that after the debt escape,

01:57:35 the central bank would have to go to the government

01:57:39 for recapitalizing things.

01:57:41 And what does that mean?

01:57:43 It means that the already brilliant public finances,

01:57:47 which is at its lowest end,

01:57:49 would also have to be hit.

01:57:50 And that will have consequences

01:57:52 on the debt GDP ratio,

01:57:55 which we are all trying to bring it down.

01:57:57 So it does a lot of ramifications.

01:58:00 When people say that,

01:58:01 what they say that,

01:58:03 it has nothing to do.

01:58:04 I'm telling you,

01:58:05 if you're going to seek 6 billion from the government,

01:58:08 where is the government going to get that money from?

01:58:12 It's only going to compound the debt GDP ratio.

01:58:16 And that will not allow us to achieve

01:58:18 the target we set for ourselves for 2027.

01:58:22 So those who are saying that,

01:58:23 we should also look at the fiscal side.

01:58:25 And then let us look at the monetary side.

01:58:28 If government is going to finance it,

01:58:30 what is going to happen is that

01:58:31 your independence can be threatened.

01:58:34 I mean, your independence can be threatened.

01:58:36 You know, operational independence

01:58:38 and financial independence are key components

01:58:41 in central bank management.

01:58:42 So if you falter one way,

01:58:44 and then you're not going to do what you're doing.

01:58:47 The only thing we have gotten now

01:58:49 is that the IMF is telling us that

01:58:51 you are doing zero financing.

01:58:54 So I don't know where the government will get the money

01:58:56 to support them,

01:58:57 medium to long term,

01:59:00 to recapitalize without

01:59:02 adding the physical pressure that we have now, Ben.

01:59:06 - I have a few questions I'm going to throw at both of you,

01:59:11 Professor Mensah and Dr. Eti Ahene,

01:59:13 as we cap off the conversation.

01:59:15 You can pick and choose which ones to respond to.

01:59:18 There are those who have said,

01:59:20 and I believe in recent times,

01:59:21 I forget which person,

01:59:24 whether it was Kwame P. Enim,

01:59:26 or I've just forgotten,

01:59:29 who made mention of the fact

01:59:30 that the Bretton Woods institutions,

01:59:33 they are more like neo-colonialist in their mindset,

01:59:36 and that they do more harm than good

01:59:39 to these countries that oftentimes in the developing world

01:59:43 would go to them for programs like we're seeing now.

01:59:48 That is the first bit.

01:59:50 The second bit has to do with this question,

01:59:54 or this comment that comes through from Sharif Bawa,

01:59:57 he says, "Good morning, Ben.

02:00:00 "I am enjoying your show,

02:00:01 "listening to your panel carefully.

02:00:02 "You can see we allowed the politicians to play with us.

02:00:05 "I think we need to look at our constitution again.

02:00:08 "The government of the day cannot appoint everybody."

02:00:12 That was a point that Professor Mensah made.

02:00:15 The central bank's governor and all of that

02:00:17 is often appointed by Mr. President or Madam President,

02:00:22 though we've never had that.

02:00:25 How do you relate to that point moving forward?

02:00:30 What do we have to do?

02:00:32 Because once this person is appointed by the president,

02:00:35 that person would be naturally beholden in a way

02:00:39 to the appointing authority.

02:00:42 And any final thoughts you could add to that?

02:00:44 I'll start with you, Professor Mensah.

02:00:47 Yeah, I mean, clearly with the Bretton Woods institutions,

02:00:50 I beg to differ on the statement that they do more harm

02:00:55 than the good they're supposed to have for us.

02:00:58 I think the Bretton Woods institutions serves as

02:01:02 more or less, I mean, an insurance, let me put it that way.

02:01:07 And for insurance, until you find yourself in a problem,

02:01:12 your relationship with them will not be triggered.

02:01:16 And I believe that our economic managers,

02:01:20 having known that we have a relationship with

02:01:23 the various Bretton Woods institutions,

02:01:26 tend to intentionally run down the economy

02:01:31 and then go for a claim, let me put it that way.

02:01:35 Because if you have an insurance

02:01:36 and you run your car into a ditch

02:01:38 or you run your car into someone's car,

02:01:40 especially if it's comprehensive,

02:01:42 obviously you get your car back

02:01:46 or your car is restored to its shape.

02:01:49 So I think with that at the hint side

02:01:51 of our economic managers, it has pumped them so much

02:01:55 that they tend to run the economy

02:01:58 on their way and manner they want it.

02:02:01 And when we find ourselves into trouble,

02:02:03 they go back to these Bretton Woods institutions.

02:02:06 But apart from that, I can say that

02:02:11 the relationship we have with them

02:02:13 is only triggered when we misbehave,

02:02:15 when we don't manage the economy well.

02:02:17 So I differ on that.

02:02:20 If we are able to sit down

02:02:23 and then manage the economies very well,

02:02:26 I think we'll get a respect from this Bertie.

02:02:29 - I think Prof's connection has frozen again.

02:02:34 Dr. Echiahene, over to you.

02:02:35 There's something I'd wanted to add,

02:02:37 and maybe just your expectations

02:02:38 on the second round of domestic debt exchange,

02:02:42 or the debt exchange, I should put it that way,

02:02:44 which will involve the dollar-denominated bonds,

02:02:47 the IPPs, COCO bills, among others.

02:02:50 You could add that if you care to.

02:02:52 Dr. Echiahene.

02:02:53 - Thank you very much, Ben.

02:02:54 I think Dr. Esgodo, Dr. Ismaili-Hamson.

02:02:58 - Prof. Samens.

02:02:59 - Yeah, Dr. Ismaili-Hamson.

02:03:00 - Yes, yes, yes, it was Dr. Ismaili-Hamson, yes.

02:03:03 - I follow him, and I think the statement he made

02:03:06 is very important to me.

02:03:09 I agree to some points that he said,

02:03:11 and I also agree with Prof. Samens, I thought,

02:03:15 that what he's saying is right.

02:03:16 You see, the problem with these IMF is that,

02:03:20 that's why I agree with Dr. Hamson.

02:03:22 We see, they sit down and let the guys run down the hill,

02:03:26 and then they come.

02:03:27 I would have thought that, in the headmaster,

02:03:29 you take the stick and tell them,

02:03:30 "Master, don't do this.

02:03:31 "If you do this, we will help you."

02:03:33 At least it will send a signal to them

02:03:35 that they cannot manipulate the economy,

02:03:37 and because of your relationship,

02:03:39 you always go for support.

02:03:41 And we've been there for 17,

02:03:42 who knows we won't go for 20 times?

02:03:44 Because they will need them to destroy it,

02:03:46 and they will go and beg, and they will come.

02:03:49 So I agree with both Prof. Mensah and Dr. Ismaili-Hamson,

02:03:54 that we should come out,

02:03:57 we shouldn't wait for them to do that.

02:03:59 And again, to the government,

02:04:01 I mean, the government is what the Lord Mensah is saying.

02:04:05 You see, the law has been made in such a way

02:04:07 that somebody appoints everybody.

02:04:10 So they work to the person.

02:04:11 I mean, that is where the governance issue comes in.

02:04:13 And I think as we look at the economy,

02:04:16 we may have to look at these things very well

02:04:18 to help us with future development.

02:04:20 And for the debt, DDT on cocoa and the IPPs,

02:04:25 and it's going to hit some of the financial sector,

02:04:29 it will hit some of them.

02:04:31 And if it hits them,

02:04:32 we are also going to run down their system.

02:04:34 The dollar denominated bonds,

02:04:37 some of, I read some of the banks are in,

02:04:40 and that one too, would affect institutions.

02:04:42 So it is not good at all.

02:04:44 The situation we are finding ourselves now,

02:04:47 whether we're going to restructure the IPs and all those things,

02:04:50 are going to fight the balance sheet

02:04:51 of most of the businesses in this country.

02:04:54 And that would have a big effect on the economic recovery,

02:04:58 the so-called turnaround

02:04:59 that people say they have turned around.

02:05:01 - You say the so-called turnaround

02:05:03 that people say they've turned around.

02:05:05 You're referring to the finance minister.

02:05:06 Just to conclude, just give me a figure.

02:05:09 On a scale of one to 10,

02:05:10 looking at the DDEP part one and part two,

02:05:14 that is expected, how much of a shock do you think,

02:05:17 how much pain do you think we're going to feel

02:05:20 throughout the rest of this year and in the coming year?

02:05:24 On a scale of one to 10, what would you say?

02:05:27 I mean.

02:05:28 - I'll give it a three.

02:05:30 - A three?

02:05:31 - Yeah.

02:05:32 - Okay.

02:05:34 - I'll give it three.

02:05:35 - So 30% more pain.

02:05:37 - Yeah, 30% more pain will come in,

02:05:40 but it will not be as huge as we have had

02:05:42 from the previous month.

02:05:45 There will be a pain.

02:05:46 There will definitely be a pain.

02:05:48 - Thank you so much, Dr. Triahene,

02:05:51 for sharing your insights on this matter.

02:05:56 So basically he says, yes,

02:05:57 maybe I should have asked him as well,

02:05:59 what percentage he would have given

02:06:01 in terms of the pain of the first DDEP.

02:06:03 But he says, whatever pain we may have felt,

02:06:05 we should look forward to another 30% add on

02:06:08 if the second round comes off, which is very likely.

02:06:13 But what would be your concluding thoughts?

02:06:15 And maybe, what do you think about

02:06:18 Dr. Ishmael Yamsin's assertions

02:06:19 when it comes to the Bretton Woods institutions?

02:06:22 - Well, first of all, I would like to say that

02:06:24 Ghana was in the ICU as a patient

02:06:28 that had lost both of its kidneys.

02:06:31 - Wow, so basically you're dying.

02:06:33 - Yes, Ghana was dying.

02:06:34 And the only donor that came in to give a kidney

02:06:38 probably was the Bank of Ghana,

02:06:40 because they felt they had two kidneys,

02:06:42 both were in a very good situation.

02:06:43 So why don't we give the government one?

02:06:46 They gave the government one.

02:06:47 Now they are being told that your last kidney

02:06:50 that you have has issues.

02:06:53 - That's the central bank.

02:06:54 - Yes, so who is going to be a donor to the central bank?

02:06:57 - Wow, that's an interesting scenario.

02:07:00 - It's a simple thing, that's what is going on.

02:07:03 So Ghana had a problem, central bank came to help.

02:07:07 And now the central bank finds itself

02:07:09 in a very bad situation where it is being asked

02:07:12 to save itself, save government again,

02:07:15 save the banks, institutions, and individual bondholders.

02:07:20 For the Bretton Woods institutions,

02:07:22 they never force anything on anybody.

02:07:25 You only go there when you do your own things

02:07:30 and it takes you there.

02:07:31 - Like they say, you only do some of these things

02:07:34 when you require surgery.

02:07:35 Surgery is when things are really come to a head.

02:07:39 - Go for an IMF program, it's not by fault

02:07:41 that you should do a debt restructure.

02:07:43 You only do a debt restructure when you borrow

02:07:46 to a certain point that we find it unsustainable,

02:07:50 that they don't want to give you the money

02:07:52 so that you go and use that same money to pay debt.

02:07:55 So restructure before we give you.

02:07:57 So in 2015, when we took our 16th IMF program,

02:08:02 our debt level was somewhat sustainable.

02:08:04 We didn't have to do any form of debt restructure.

02:08:06 In fact, this is new.

02:08:07 - This is the first time we're restructuring.

02:08:09 - It means that there are conditions all right

02:08:13 that the Bretton Woods institutions will put on you.

02:08:15 But if you don't reach a certain level,

02:08:18 you will not trigger those conditionalities.

02:08:21 So I wouldn't say they bring more harm than good,

02:08:25 but I would say that your own doings

02:08:28 will trigger some of their conditionalities.

02:08:30 And it's as simple as that.

02:08:31 They don't force anything.

02:08:32 - Maybe we ourselves do more harm than good to ourselves.

02:08:35 - Absolutely, absolutely.

02:08:37 That's why the IMF will not, you know, they have programs,

02:08:41 but if you qualify for an ECF or whatever,

02:08:44 they will ask for your own program

02:08:46 in your letter of intent.

02:08:48 So this program that we are currently running

02:08:50 is just an IMF supported program.

02:08:53 The name of the actual program

02:08:55 is what Gambian calls a PCP.

02:08:57 IMF is just supporting,

02:08:58 making sure that you do certain things.

02:09:00 So any form of austerity that is in that program,

02:09:04 we are going to solve.

02:09:06 Yes, that we say we can solve our problem this way.

02:09:08 - Well, those who joined us for this conversation

02:09:10 in the studio, Isaac Kofi Eje,

02:09:13 he is with us here at Joy News.

02:09:16 Dr. Richmond Echeangene is a banking consultant.

02:09:18 We also had Professor Lord Mensah

02:09:21 of the University of Ghana Business School

02:09:23 on this conversation.

02:09:24 The verdict is out there.

02:09:26 You read between the lines,

02:09:27 but we can expect more pain

02:09:29 as far as Dr. Richard Echeangene is concerned.

02:09:32 If you felt pain during the first DDEP,

02:09:36 this time, according to him,

02:09:38 another 30% at least is coming your way.

02:09:42 That's how we cap off the conversation.

02:09:43 But stay with us because up next,

02:09:45 we still have that conversation on SITAG

02:09:48 and their sit down, their industrial action.

02:09:53 What is the latest on that?

02:09:54 What is the way forward?

02:09:56 We'll be bringing you details after the break.

02:09:58 (dramatic music)

02:10:02 (dramatic music)

02:10:05 - Hi there, I'm Bernice Abubay Dulansa.

02:10:28 A very good morning to you

02:10:29 and thank you for staying here on the AM Show.

02:10:33 Last week, we spoke extensively about the decision

02:10:37 of the Colleges of Education, Teachers,

02:10:39 and Schools of Ghana, that's SITAG,

02:10:41 went back on a strike.

02:10:43 We spoke to the NLC as well.

02:10:45 And we were hoping that by today,

02:10:48 there would have been some resolution,

02:10:50 especially after we understand

02:10:52 that the National Labor Commission

02:10:55 directed the association to call off a strike

02:10:58 and work towards meeting it this Wednesday.

02:11:02 SITAG is still on that strike

02:11:04 and this morning, once again,

02:11:06 we are speaking to Executive Secretary

02:11:08 of the National Labor Commission for more on this.

02:11:11 Good morning to you, Seth.

02:11:12 Thank you so much for joining me once again this morning.

02:11:16 So, some days ago, you gave a clear directive to SITAG

02:11:20 for it to call off the strike.

02:11:22 It's still embarking on that strike

02:11:24 as I understand it to be.

02:11:27 What is the next move by the National Labor Commission?

02:11:30 - Hello?

02:11:35 - Hello?

02:11:40 - Hello?

02:11:41 - Yes, please, can you hear me?

02:11:42 - Yes, I can hear you.

02:11:43 - Great.

02:11:44 I was asking what the next move

02:11:46 for the National Labor Commission is,

02:11:48 seeing that SITAG has still not heeded your directive

02:11:51 to call off its strike.

02:11:52 (audio cuts out)

02:11:55 - Hello?

02:12:05 Well, we seem to have a challenge with that line.

02:12:09 We'll try and work on it and establish a better,

02:12:12 a better connection.

02:12:16 And so, we'll try to call you back.

02:12:18 But what it is this morning is that

02:12:21 we're giving you an update on that strike

02:12:23 embarked on by SITAG.

02:12:26 As you may be aware, it has been on the strike

02:12:28 since August 1.

02:12:30 And the National Labor Commission directed

02:12:33 the association to call off its strike,

02:12:36 pending a meeting this Wednesday.

02:12:37 But the association is still on strike.

02:12:41 So, we're trying to understand

02:12:43 what the National Labor Commission's next move will be.

02:12:47 And also, try to see if we can reach out to SITAG

02:12:52 and find out why it has still not listened

02:12:56 to the National Labor Commission on this matter.

02:12:59 So, when we are able to get to Mr. Fuswa Samo,

02:13:02 we will speak to him.

02:13:03 Hello, Mr. Fuswa Samo, can you hear me now?

02:13:06 - Yes, I can hear you now.

02:13:07 - All right, great.

02:13:08 I was asking what the NLC's next move is,

02:13:11 seeing that SITAG has not heeded your call

02:13:14 for it to call off its strike.

02:13:17 - Yes, we have been ourselves up to Wednesday,

02:13:21 when they appeared before the commission.

02:13:24 We'll have to call off the strike

02:13:25 then we'll see the next step.

02:13:28 - But this was a clear directive from you, right?

02:13:31 So, are you saying that you're okay that the--

02:13:35 - Oh no, we are not okay.

02:13:36 At all times, we have said compliance.

02:13:38 Certainly, they are on strike

02:13:40 because they are claiming government

02:13:42 is supposed to comply with our directive

02:13:44 from the National Labor Commission.

02:13:47 So, that is the petitioner who expressed compliance

02:13:49 from the government side,

02:13:51 I think that is the only fair and proper

02:13:53 that you also comply with our directive.

02:13:56 Else, your morale will try to complain

02:14:01 and we will do something about it.

02:14:04 - So, are there any sanctions for any association

02:14:11 that does not adhere to or heed your directives?

02:14:15 - We know there is,

02:14:17 but at the moment we have not applied it for now.

02:14:20 - Why is that?

02:14:21 - You see, this is a bit of a complex issue.

02:14:29 It's a commission that has given an order directly

02:14:32 for certain things to be done.

02:14:34 It has got to be second.

02:14:38 So, the government compliance,

02:14:43 the directive,

02:14:44 came to act on the 31st around 4 p.m.

02:14:50 This strike is not a...

02:14:52 - Hello, Mr. Osafoswa Samoa?

02:15:00 Hello, Mr. Samoa?

02:15:03 Oh, too bad.

02:15:05 Once again, we lost Mr. Samoa there.

02:15:07 We were just trying to understand

02:15:09 why the commission is failing to apply sanctions

02:15:14 in scenarios like these

02:15:16 when it gives directives that are not heeded.

02:15:19 And just a bit of background also for you,

02:15:22 we are hoping to reach the president of CTAG,

02:15:25 Mr. Prince Obingima on this matter,

02:15:28 but he had earlier spoken to us indicating

02:15:31 that their strike is still ongoing

02:15:33 because they've not been able to reach

02:15:35 any concrete solutions or resolutions

02:15:40 with government on this matter.

02:15:42 And so, they are still embarking on the strike.

02:15:45 But there is an impact,

02:15:46 it affects academic work in colleges of education

02:15:51 across the country.

02:15:53 And that means that for many people

02:15:56 who are in these schools,

02:15:58 they cannot continue with academic activities

02:16:01 as they would want to.

02:16:02 I will keep monitoring the situation

02:16:04 and let you know.

02:16:05 Hopefully, if you're able to get Mr. Fusasama,

02:16:06 we'll take his concluding thoughts.

02:16:08 We're still trying, he hasn't answered.

02:16:10 We'll take a quick breather now.

02:16:11 We'll bring you more shortly.

02:16:12 (dramatic music)

02:16:28 (dramatic music)

02:16:31 Some 18 minutes after nine,

02:16:48 you're still watching the AM show with me,

02:16:50 Bernice Abubay Dulansa.

02:16:51 So sorry, we couldn't conclude that conversation

02:16:54 with Mr. Fusasama, Executive Secretary of the NLC

02:16:57 on the ongoing SeaTac strike.

02:16:59 We had some challenges with our line

02:17:01 and hopefully we'll be able to rectify that

02:17:03 before the program ends.

02:17:05 But let's go to Kumasi now

02:17:07 because some commercial tricycle operators,

02:17:09 that's properly known as Pragya,

02:17:11 in that part of the country,

02:17:13 have protested the plant restriction of their movement

02:17:17 in the city's central business district.

02:17:19 The Metropolitan Assembly is implementing

02:17:21 the restriction of Pragya riders

02:17:23 while engaging them in a sensitization exercise.

02:17:26 Anaya Abubachi-Yadom has been monitoring the situation.

02:17:29 Here's his report.

02:17:31 (crowd chanting)

02:17:33 - The implementation of the restriction,

02:17:38 according to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly,

02:17:41 is to help ease congestion at Edum, Alaba, and Dokta Mensa

02:17:45 areas in the central business district.

02:17:48 A protest to resist the operations of the tricycles

02:17:51 on Tuesday led to the arrest of some Pragya riders.

02:17:54 (speaking in foreign language)

02:17:58 How can an old woman with loads coming to the CBD

02:18:09 carry them without our help?

02:18:11 (speaking in foreign language)

02:18:15 (speaking in foreign language)

02:18:19 This is where we work.

02:18:43 So what do you expect us to do

02:18:45 if you restrict us from coming into the CBD?

02:18:48 This is the business we do to feed our families.

02:18:51 We pay everything as well.

02:18:53 (speaking in foreign language)

02:18:57 (speaking in foreign language)

02:19:01 What they want to implement won't help us.

02:19:17 This is the business I do to feed my family.

02:19:19 (speaking in foreign language)

02:19:23 (speaking in foreign language)

02:19:28 (speaking in foreign language)

02:19:32 (speaking in foreign language)

02:19:36 (speaking in foreign language)

02:19:40 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:09 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:13 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:16 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:20 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:24 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:28 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:32 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:36 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:40 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:44 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:49 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:53 (speaking in foreign language)

02:20:57 (speaking in foreign language)

02:21:01 (speaking in foreign language)

02:21:05 (speaking in foreign language)

02:21:09 (speaking in foreign language)

02:21:37 The KMA Transport Convener, Kwekwa Pia,

02:21:39 engaged the riders to cooperate with the ongoing exercise.

02:21:43 (speaking in foreign language)

02:22:07 - We are only educating them on the restrictions,

02:22:10 but they don't want us to do our work.

02:22:12 They attacked our men on ground.

02:22:14 If it continues, they make our work difficult.

02:22:17 (speaking in foreign language)

02:22:22 (speaking in foreign language)

02:22:51 - The protesting riders have also called

02:22:53 for the release of their arrested colleagues.

02:22:56 (speaking in foreign language)

02:22:59 - They should release our brothers.

02:23:02 This is not any issue we must fight about.

02:23:04 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:09 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:13 - We are pleading with the authorities

02:23:30 to release our colleagues.

02:23:31 This is only a misunderstanding.

02:23:34 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:37 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:42 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:47 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:51 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:55 (speaking in foreign language)

02:23:59 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:03 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:07 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:11 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:15 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:19 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:23 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:27 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:30 (speaking in foreign language)

02:24:34 (speaking in foreign language)

02:25:00 (speaking in foreign language)

02:25:04 - Some traders are unhappy with the assembly's inability

02:25:30 to implement the restriction

02:25:32 which has missed two scheduled take off dates.

02:25:34 (speaking in foreign language)

02:25:38 - The tricycle riders do not drive well.

02:25:58 They make their CBD congested.

02:26:00 So I think KME's inability to implement the restrictions

02:26:04 is due to the lack of negotiations

02:26:06 between themselves and the Prankah union.

02:26:08 We are disappointed though.

02:26:10 (speaking in foreign language)

02:26:13 - They don't follow any road regulations.

02:26:27 We always fight with them because of how careless they drive.

02:26:30 (speaking in foreign language)

02:26:34 - According to respondents,

02:26:37 the implementation of the Pragya restriction

02:26:40 would help ease the CBD's congestion.

02:26:42 (speaking in foreign language)

02:26:46 - I agree with the KME.

02:26:52 We should restrict them from the CBD

02:26:55 because they always engage in wrongdoings.

02:26:57 (speaking in foreign language)

02:27:02 - The KME is not stopping them at all,

02:27:04 but making way for the taxis and minibuses

02:27:07 which will help us all in the CBD.

02:27:09 (speaking in foreign language)

02:27:23 - The failure of the KME in implementing the restriction

02:27:26 gives us no hope in the KME.

02:27:29 (speaking in foreign language)

02:27:33 - Chief executive of the KME, Samuel Pine,

02:27:39 says the delayed implementation

02:27:41 is to sensitize the riders on the restriction.

02:27:44 He has set a new date of August 7th, 2023

02:27:48 to start implementation.

02:27:50 (speaking in foreign language)

02:27:55 - Enforcement should have started today.

02:27:57 But yes, some people were complaining,

02:27:59 oh, we've not heard about what's going on and all that.

02:28:01 So what we've done is that, yes,

02:28:03 we are looking at talking to them.

02:28:07 So today when you encroach, let me use that word,

02:28:10 when you encroach the territories

02:28:13 that we don't want them to use,

02:28:14 they will talk to you and let you go.

02:28:16 But from Monday, so between now and Friday,

02:28:19 that is what our tax was going to do.

02:28:21 From Monday, the police and the MTTD

02:28:24 are secreting people in the tax force

02:28:26 will be fully to enforcement

02:28:28 because a week is enough time

02:28:30 to that giving them that legacy and explanations

02:28:34 for further discussion that they want.

02:28:37 - Attempts by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly

02:28:39 to restrict the operations of tricycle riders

02:28:42 from the central business district of Kumasi

02:28:44 has been fiercely resisted by these tricycle riders.

02:28:47 In attempts to implement the restrictions,

02:28:50 15 tricycle riders have been arrested.

02:28:53 Reporting for Joy News,

02:28:54 my name is Danabuache Danquah-Yadom, Kumasi.

02:28:56 (dramatic music)

02:28:59 (dramatic music)

02:29:02 - And here in our studios at Kukumlemle,

02:29:26 I'm Bernice Abubidulan.

02:29:28 So you're still watching the AM show,

02:29:30 some 30 minutes to the top of the hour.

02:29:32 But let me bring you now a quick wrap

02:29:34 of our second clinic of the 2023 edition

02:29:38 of the Ecobank Joy News Habitat Fair

02:29:40 that happened at the West Hills Mall.

02:29:42 It was very exciting.

02:29:43 I passed through, but here's what you missed

02:29:45 if you didn't join us.

02:29:47 - Sponsored by Ecobank and Cities and Habitats,

02:29:51 vendors participating in the 2023

02:29:54 Ecobank Joy News Habitat Fair say

02:29:57 the second mini clinic ranks among the most successful

02:30:00 in terms of attendance.

02:30:02 - This fair has given us so much exposure

02:30:05 because not many people knew of Blue Rose,

02:30:08 but due to this fair, we've had a lot of people

02:30:10 coming to know Blue Rose Limited,

02:30:13 the properties we have available for sale,

02:30:15 where our sites are located,

02:30:17 and then our contact numbers.

02:30:18 So this fair has really been very, very beneficial to us

02:30:23 because they've given us the immediate exposure

02:30:26 to outdoor properties to the general public.

02:30:29 - I must say, we're coming to the West,

02:30:31 or the West Hills Mall has been a great experience.

02:30:35 And as usual, we have a number of jobs in the West,

02:30:39 but I think we also need to get close to our people.

02:30:43 Like you rightly asked, if we have an office here,

02:30:45 we don't have an office,

02:30:46 but we have a number of jobs or projects around.

02:30:49 So it's good.

02:30:50 We also thought we should also get close to our people,

02:30:52 get to know what their experiences have been,

02:30:55 and then what we look forward to doing for them

02:30:58 in the coming days or coming years.

02:31:00 So I must say, we are impressed.

02:31:02 I'm impressed with the participation

02:31:05 or with the numbers so far.

02:31:07 - For them, the exposure the fair offers is unparalleled.

02:31:11 - I think, well, first of all, we joined Joy FM

02:31:13 because we believe them to be an exceptional company

02:31:16 in terms of media promotion.

02:31:19 And the team that we have met over the last nine months or so

02:31:23 have been very helpful in advising us how best

02:31:25 to hit our target markets.

02:31:27 So it's not just about exposure,

02:31:29 it's about targeted exposure.

02:31:31 And we now have a greater sense of

02:31:33 how to put our name out there

02:31:34 in a way that people will want to buy from us.

02:31:37 They understand that we provide high quality

02:31:39 and good value for money.

02:31:40 And that's why I think multimedia have helped us to promote

02:31:44 probably all around the country, not just to Canada,

02:31:46 probably all over the country.

02:31:47 - Head of marketing at the Multimedia Group Limited,

02:31:50 David Maxfoger said,

02:31:51 "Based on the success talked at the two mini clinics,

02:31:55 management of Joy News have decided to extend the fair

02:31:59 to other parts of the country."

02:32:00 - The good thing is that this year,

02:32:03 we want to give it a national appeal.

02:32:07 And so based on the success of the two mini clinics

02:32:10 or two mini fairs, the Achi Mota one and this one,

02:32:14 we have decided to expand it.

02:32:16 And so we'll go and do one in Thema,

02:32:19 end of August or first week in September.

02:32:22 And then we'll do the second one in Takrade.

02:32:24 And then we'll come back in November for the grand one.

02:32:27 So we are changing it this year based on the success

02:32:30 of the two clinics we've had so far.

02:32:32 So, and then we'll give it that national appeal.

02:32:34 This year we are going to go to the Western region

02:32:36 to make sure that we cover the golden triangle,

02:32:39 Accra, Kumasi, Takrade.

02:32:41 We are going to be in Kumasi in October,

02:32:44 and then we'll come back to Accra

02:32:46 for the grand one in November.

02:32:47 - Reacting to these, vendors and patrons believe

02:32:50 that the session is in the right direction.

02:32:53 - It will be interesting.

02:32:54 I think this will be our first time in Thema and Takrade.

02:32:57 Thema is developing very fast, so that is the place to be.

02:33:01 So we look forward to Thema.

02:33:02 I'm really excited to go to Thema and Takrade.

02:33:05 Oh, I can't wait to be in Takrade.

02:33:08 The sea breeze, the environment, Takrade is the place to be.

02:33:12 So see you in Takrade and Thema.

02:33:15 - Oh, I think it's very exciting.

02:33:17 I mean, for the past few years that we've been here,

02:33:19 it's always been centered in Accra.

02:33:22 And people traveling all the way from Thema,

02:33:25 as you said, you get calls from people from other regions.

02:33:29 So we taking the Habitat Fair there,

02:33:31 I think is an amazing thing.

02:33:32 - No, no, it's actually quite enlightening

02:33:34 because we know that Accra is the business hub

02:33:37 for the whole of Ghana, yes?

02:33:39 That doesn't mean that these up and coming cities

02:33:40 won't eventually become good marketplace for business.

02:33:43 So you start early, you tap into the market,

02:33:46 you create promotion.

02:33:47 In a few years, you'll benefit everybody who's involved.

02:33:50 - Max Fuga urged prospective vendors

02:33:52 to grab the opportunity.

02:33:54 - There's only one stop shop for everything housing.

02:33:58 And that is the Joy News Habitat Fair.

02:34:01 And so if you are dreaming of to own a home,

02:34:06 whether you dreaming of acquiring a property,

02:34:12 whatever you are thinking of,

02:34:15 as long as it has to do with home ownership,

02:34:20 the place to be is the Joy News Habitat Fair.

02:34:24 So make a date with us,

02:34:25 from next week we'll be communicating the details.

02:34:28 We'll be in Thema, we'll be in Kumasi,

02:34:31 we'll be in Thakradi,

02:34:32 and we'll be back here in Accra for the big one.

02:34:35 - Some patrons of the second clinic

02:34:37 expressed their anticipation for the main event.

02:34:40 - Well, we are trusting that the main event will be great.

02:34:43 Things have been quite slow,

02:34:45 but we hope that in November things would have picked up

02:34:49 and then, sure, many people will come,

02:34:52 inquire and go ahead to purchase.

02:34:56 - The Ecobank Joy News Habitat Fair

02:34:58 provides a unified platform for both potential homeowners

02:35:02 and stakeholders in the housing sector

02:35:05 to help alleviate the country's 1.8 million housing deficit.

02:35:09 Visit the many clinics in Thema, Thakradi, and Kumasi,

02:35:13 and the main event in November.

02:35:16 Carlos Kaloni, reporting for Joy News from West Hills Mall.

02:35:20 - So do stay with us here on your Joy News channel

02:35:26 for all the details of the other clinics

02:35:27 that will be happening across the country.

02:35:30 It's now time to get interactive with you.

02:35:32 What are your thoughts?

02:35:33 What have you been itching to tell us?

02:35:35 Here's the number to call, 0302,

02:35:37 well, it will roll up on the screen,

02:35:40 it just went out of my head, I don't know where it went to.

02:35:42 But we will be putting up the numbers on your screen shortly.

02:35:45 0302, 211-691, yeah, I know, I know that.

02:35:50 Right, so you give us a call, let us know what you think,

02:35:53 let us know what your concerns are.

02:35:54 This morning, we've been talking about the BOG,

02:35:57 we've been talking about the impact

02:35:59 of the domestic debt exchange program,

02:36:02 we've been speaking to Dr. Richmond Etieh-Henu,

02:36:04 who's come up with some interesting research,

02:36:07 we spoke to analysts as well,

02:36:09 and we had our own in-house statistician

02:36:13 to also share his thoughts on the numbers

02:36:17 as they have been projected through that research.

02:36:20 So let us know what you think, what your general welfare is.

02:36:23 We've also been talking about CTAG, yes,

02:36:26 CTAG is still on strike, despite a directive

02:36:29 from the National Labor Commission

02:36:30 for it to rescind its decision.

02:36:32 CTAG says that government is not progressing,

02:36:36 at least in its favor when it comes to the meetings

02:36:39 that have been had so far.

02:36:40 And also, BET starts today, did you know that?

02:36:44 Right, if there's anything you'd like to share with us,

02:36:46 we'll gladly take those concerns

02:36:49 and take those thoughts as well.

02:36:52 And as you know, we always get interactive with you here

02:36:57 on the AM Show.

02:36:59 What are your thoughts, what would you like to share with us?

02:37:02 I will gladly take those comments.

02:37:06 (silence)

02:37:08 Well, do I hear any calls coming through?

02:37:10 Well, also, oh, too bad.

02:37:15 It appears we're having a challenge with our lines.

02:37:17 Please keep trying, please keep trying

02:37:21 if the lines aren't going through as they usually do.

02:37:27 But this morning, a lot of pupils are participating

02:37:31 in the basic education certificate examination,

02:37:33 we wish them all the best.

02:37:35 And we know that in moments like this,

02:37:40 it's been set to be a critical point for these young people

02:37:44 because it's the major examination

02:37:47 most of them are taking in life.

02:37:49 And so it's a big deal if you remember your days

02:37:51 writing these, you can understand.

02:37:53 So if there's someone by you who's participating

02:37:55 in that examination, just give them some encouragement

02:37:58 and let them know they can do it

02:38:00 because we all went through the system.

02:38:02 Yusuf is our first caller.

02:38:03 Hello, Yusuf, good morning.

02:38:04 What are your thoughts?

02:38:06 - Thank you very much for having me.

02:38:10 And I'll be monitoring and listening to what is happening.

02:38:15 Actually, the government need to be up and doing

02:38:19 because with this DDEP, my sister,

02:38:22 I'm telling you there was a time I was taking a car

02:38:24 from La Paz to Botswana in a trot-trol bus.

02:38:30 There's a guy who was so affected with this DDEP

02:38:33 and was so angry, so angry to the extent

02:38:36 that he's saying if all he's waiting is,

02:38:39 let's say, let's go, then he takes his cutlass

02:38:42 and I was shocked, I was shocked.

02:38:45 So people are feeling the impact

02:38:47 of this particular thing called DDEP.

02:38:51 The government need to do, you know, we don't know,

02:38:54 they need to do something to alleviate the impact

02:38:59 of this particular devil called DDEP

02:39:03 so that, you know, this can do well with us.

02:39:07 So this is what I want to say.

02:39:08 - Right, Yusuf, thank you for sharing those thoughts with us.

02:39:10 And like he said, there are many people

02:39:12 who have been affected so badly

02:39:14 that it's gotten to them real bad.

02:39:18 And so I can understand the level of emotions

02:39:21 with this young man or man that Yusuf cites.

02:39:26 It's not an easy moment for a lot of people,

02:39:29 but well, all we can say is that let's keep our heads

02:39:32 high up and hope that we will definitely

02:39:35 turn the corner, hopefully, and see how we can all do it.

02:39:39 And I remember there was a day that Benjamin and I

02:39:43 were talking about how to go through the system

02:39:45 because it is what it is.

02:39:47 We've all been hit badly, but I think that it's time

02:39:51 we build more communities, more support systems.

02:39:55 And if there's somebody you haven't heard from

02:39:56 in a long time, just give them a call

02:39:58 to check if they're okay, if some of us

02:40:02 are better off than others and we can support.

02:40:04 I think this is the time for us to build communities

02:40:07 while we still demand that our leaders do what's right

02:40:10 and get us the results that we all want.

02:40:12 Maxwell is calling us from Adda.

02:40:14 Hello, Maxwell, let's hear you.

02:40:16 Hello, Maxwell?

02:40:18 Oh no, I lost Maxwell there.

02:40:22 Too bad, Maxwell.

02:40:23 But like I was saying, this is time for us

02:40:25 to build community.

02:40:26 And this is not in any way to suggest

02:40:28 that we shouldn't demand what we believe

02:40:31 must be the right thing from our leaders and government.

02:40:35 Hello, Maxwell, can you hear me?

02:40:38 - Yes, please, I can hear you.

02:40:39 Good morning, my dear.

02:40:40 - Good morning, Maxwell.

02:40:41 How's Adda?

02:40:42 - Adda is fine.

02:40:44 And yourself?

02:40:44 - I'm doing great, thanks for asking.

02:40:46 - We thank God for your life.

02:40:48 - Thank you.

02:40:49 - I want to comment on the National Labor Commission's

02:40:52 issue that you raised.

02:40:53 - All right, sure, please go ahead.

02:40:55 - Okay, thank you.

02:40:56 I think that the National Labor Commission

02:40:58 both is mixing the whole issue regarding CTAG consent.

02:41:02 We are talking about the fact that your own orders

02:41:07 and directives are being violated by government

02:41:10 on the implementation of our conditional service.

02:41:13 And you are telling the public that the government

02:41:16 has actually shown commitment or evidence

02:41:19 that they are complying with your directive.

02:41:21 Where is the evidence?

02:41:23 The evidence you're talking about has been a letter

02:41:25 that we sent on since July, July this year.

02:41:30 And that letter has not been implemented.

02:41:33 And we wrote a letter to you, informing you about the fact

02:41:39 that the government is not implementing your own orders

02:41:42 and directives.

02:41:43 So make sure that the powers that you have,

02:41:46 you actually have the orders implemented.

02:41:50 And you are telling the public that the government

02:41:51 has shown evidence that they are complying with the orders.

02:41:54 - Maxwell, are you a teacher at a college of education?

02:41:58 - Of course I am.

02:41:59 I am a teacher in a college, so I know what I'm talking about

02:42:02 because the letter he's talking about has been there

02:42:04 since July and the controller has not implemented it.

02:42:07 And that's why we are in the house.

02:42:09 So if he thinks that that letter is implemented,

02:42:13 he should check from the controller

02:42:14 whether they have made any payment to anybody.

02:42:16 - Right, so, and like I'm saying,

02:42:18 in reference to this particular issue,

02:42:20 I remember one of my engagements with him last week,

02:42:22 I did put that question to him.

02:42:24 And he suggested that CTAG can take this matter up.

02:42:29 You have the power to do so in the courts.

02:42:33 And so the NLC has done its part.

02:42:35 That was the response to what the NLC is doing

02:42:40 with regards to the government's inability

02:42:46 to honor its promise after your first strike.

02:42:49 - But, but is that...

02:42:52 - Hello?

02:42:56 - Yes, I can hear you, Maxwell.

02:42:58 - Ah, yeah, what you just talked about,

02:43:01 yeah, CTAG can take this matter up.

02:43:03 But here are the case,

02:43:04 National Labor Commission is inviting CTAG.

02:43:08 And the basis for the invitation is the fact

02:43:10 that your own orders have been violated by government.

02:43:13 And you are inviting CTAG to come

02:43:15 and have a discussion on what?

02:43:17 That is what we don't get.

02:43:19 And we have a standard meetings over 25 times already,

02:43:23 spending our resources.

02:43:24 I'm a national executive of CTAG, national trustee.

02:43:28 We are spending so much money attending meetings.

02:43:30 And you are inviting us again to come for another meeting.

02:43:34 That is what we don't get.

02:43:35 I'm sure that if CTAG's demands have been implemented,

02:43:39 you will run out of the details to go back to the classroom.

02:43:42 By calling us for a meeting when the main issue is there,

02:43:45 the implementation of your order

02:43:46 has not been carried through with government.

02:43:48 Why do you expect the teachers to go back to the classroom?

02:43:51 And you are calling for a meeting

02:43:52 so that we spend enough money to come

02:43:54 and just listen to what?

02:43:56 It's unfortunate.

02:43:57 They must just do the needful.

02:43:58 - Right, thank you so much, Maxwell,

02:44:04 for sharing your thoughts with us.

02:44:05 And that's Maxwell,

02:44:06 and obviously speaking from a passionate perspective there,

02:44:10 because he is affected by all of this.

02:44:14 Please keep your calls coming through.

02:44:16 The numbers to call are on your screen.

02:44:18 What are your concerns?

02:44:19 You have any suggestions for government?

02:44:22 You have anything you'd like us to know,

02:44:24 we'll gladly take those comments here on the AM show.

02:44:28 And as you know, we are very interactive on Facebook as well.

02:44:32 And we can get onto Facebook.

02:44:34 We engage with you, our cherished viewer there.

02:44:38 Elizabeth is calling us.

02:44:40 Hello, Elizabeth.

02:44:41 - Good morning.

02:44:42 - Good morning.

02:44:43 How are you?

02:44:44 - I'm fine.

02:44:45 What about you?

02:44:46 - I'm doing well.

02:44:47 Thanks for asking.

02:44:48 What are your thoughts today?

02:44:50 - Oh, I get to my video stations,

02:44:54 but I'm just calling to compliment you

02:44:57 for the good work done.

02:44:59 - Thank you so much, Elizabeth.

02:45:00 I appreciate it.

02:45:01 Thank you so much.

02:45:03 So that's Elizabeth calling to compliment us

02:45:05 every now and then.

02:45:06 It's a good thing to know that you're appreciated.

02:45:09 And I appreciate you, Elizabeth,

02:45:10 for doing that this morning.

02:45:13 So like I said, you can give us a call.

02:45:15 The BEC is starting or has started today.

02:45:18 And we know that there are a lot of young people out there

02:45:21 who are participating in what is the biggest exam

02:45:25 for most of them, I'm sure, in their lifetime.

02:45:28 It is sometimes a very,

02:45:30 a very tense moment for a lot of people.

02:45:35 So if you're close to a pupil,

02:45:37 or if you have a child who's participating in the BEC,

02:45:40 you just want to help them make it easier.

02:45:43 You want to relax them.

02:45:44 You want to encourage them through the process.

02:45:47 You want to let them know that this is something

02:45:50 we all went through, largely most Ghanaians,

02:45:53 apart from those who run other curriculums.

02:45:56 We all wrote the BEC, and I know how it felt like.

02:45:59 And so sometimes these words of encouragement

02:46:01 can go a long way to help the pupils relax

02:46:04 and give off their best.

02:46:06 We also have to let them understand

02:46:08 that it's not the end of the world.

02:46:10 They should go give off their best.

02:46:12 They didn't engage in cheating,

02:46:15 because it's a bad habit to start picking up at this age.

02:46:20 They should just go answer the questions

02:46:24 well as they can so that at the end of the day,

02:46:27 what will come will be a true reflection of who they are,

02:46:30 and a signal for them if they have to improve

02:46:33 in other aspects of their academic life, they would know.

02:46:37 But what cheating does for them

02:46:39 is that it gives them a false impression of who they are.

02:46:41 And before you realize, they have to cheat their way

02:46:43 through everything in life.

02:46:45 So we don't want pupils cheating.

02:46:47 In fact, it's not something we want anybody doing,

02:46:50 whether it's in academic circles or whatever sphere of life.

02:46:53 So you just want to take advantage of that.

02:46:55 If you know somebody writing the BEC,

02:46:57 or if you're a teacher, or if you're a parent

02:47:00 or a guardian, whatever it is,

02:47:01 please just make sure that you engage the pupils

02:47:04 and let them know what they have to do.

02:47:08 - Moses is calling us from Asante, Mampong.

02:47:10 Hello, Moses.

02:47:11 - Hello, madam.

02:47:13 - How are you?

02:47:15 - I'm fine, thank you.

02:47:16 Good morning. - Good morning.

02:47:17 What would you like to share with me this morning, Moses?

02:47:20 - Yes, there's this question I want to ask,

02:47:24 even though it's going to be a rhetorical question.

02:47:26 Can this country ever be good?

02:47:29 Or is there a hope for this country?

02:47:33 I ask this because last week, Thursday,

02:47:38 I was traveling from Edjusuf to Mampong in a taxi.

02:47:43 Then there was this young man

02:47:44 who had to call his uncle in the village.

02:47:49 And then when he called his uncle,

02:47:51 he told him, "Wafa, GES recruitment, I got one.

02:47:56 And the one doing the connection for me

02:48:01 told me I have to pay 8,000 CD.

02:48:04 So I can come for my appointment later."

02:48:07 So his uncle was worried.

02:48:11 Whilst from Edjusuf, by the time we got to Efijasi,

02:48:15 the guy received a call in the same taxi

02:48:18 that his uncle collapsed.

02:48:20 You know why?

02:48:23 And the message was that his uncle didn't have money

02:48:27 and he needed a guy to get a job.

02:48:29 And the guy completed school, 2014,

02:48:33 I think, University of Education.

02:48:37 And so you ask yourself,

02:48:39 it means that a peasant's son cannot get a job

02:48:43 or a decent job in this country.

02:48:46 Look at somebody who completed school 2014,

02:48:49 got appointment and he needs to pay a whopping 8,000

02:48:53 to pick that letter and now go and look for accommodation,

02:48:58 stay in and teach.

02:48:59 Where are we going as a country?

02:49:02 Is there hope for this country, madam?

02:49:05 Ghana is no good and we the young ones must leave.

02:49:08 We cannot remain in this country and die.

02:49:10 It is a sad story.

02:49:12 I was so demoralized and very sad.

02:49:15 So thank you for your time and this is my take.

02:49:18 - Thank you.

02:49:19 Thank you for sharing with us.

02:49:21 And this is just one of many stories we've heard

02:49:25 about people who qualify, qualify to be posted

02:49:30 or qualify to get certain jobs.

02:49:34 But there are middlemen,

02:49:35 there are people who are doing these things.

02:49:38 And it reminds me of that story,

02:49:40 even about placement of pupils in schools of their choice.

02:49:45 And we are right in the BC and I'm sure it's still happening.

02:49:48 There are people who are being, you know,

02:49:53 asked to bring monies, huge, huge amounts of monies

02:49:58 to be placed in certain schools.

02:50:00 What is happening to us?

02:50:03 And that's the question that my last caller posed.

02:50:06 Why are we doing this to ourselves?

02:50:07 And we accept it.

02:50:09 And I say we because, I mean,

02:50:12 this is not only government.

02:50:13 Across the board, you go to places and it's almost like,

02:50:16 oh, this is how we've done it.

02:50:18 So I mean, everybody has to do it and go through the process.

02:50:21 - Mohamed is my last caller from Adenta.

02:50:23 Hello, Mohamed.

02:50:25 - Hello, good morning, madam.

02:50:26 - Good morning.

02:50:27 - I'm calling to talk about contractors.

02:50:31 - Please go ahead.

02:50:33 - For the past two to three years now,

02:50:36 contractors have not received payment from roadside.

02:50:39 Which we tried talking, going for meeting up and down

02:50:45 and up to now.

02:50:47 And you could see that almost 99% of Ghanian contractors

02:50:52 are sitting home and some are dying.

02:50:55 Especially those that went for loans and other things.

02:50:59 And we've been crying to government,

02:51:01 at least do some payment.

02:51:03 And the minister is there taking some special care

02:51:07 and restraining the contractors,

02:51:08 leaving the local contractors that are inside the country.

02:51:13 And this is what some of us do to live.

02:51:15 Take care of our sick parents and other people.

02:51:18 So we're also pleading to government.

02:51:21 They should look at roadside so payment can be done.

02:51:24 Contractors are dying.

02:51:25 Go to Kolebu and see.

02:51:27 Road everywhere.

02:51:28 Somebody will suffer going to banks, take from loans,

02:51:33 do his work.

02:51:35 Instead of government paying within three months,

02:51:37 it will take us two, three years.

02:51:39 The last payment that was done through this bank,

02:51:43 Fidelity Bank, up to now.

02:51:45 Almost three years today.

02:51:46 Contractors are there, dying.

02:51:49 Every blessing that you hear,

02:51:50 this contractor's work,

02:51:51 bank are taking over somebody's house, all those things.

02:51:55 So we are pleading that you look at contractors.

02:51:58 Thank you very much.

02:52:01 - Thank you, Chumohamed.

02:52:02 Thank you for calling to share your thoughts with us.

02:52:05 And it's a really difficult moment

02:52:07 for a lot of us here in Ghana.

02:52:09 And then we hope that our leaders are watching,

02:52:12 those responsible are watching.

02:52:13 We will try to follow up on this road contractors issue.

02:52:16 It's an important one for us.

02:52:18 And not only because it directly affects you,

02:52:20 but it also affects everybody.

02:52:22 'Cause when the road contractors aren't paid,

02:52:24 then the jobs stall and then the roads begin to deteriorate.

02:52:27 And then we know the ripple effects of that.

02:52:30 So it's an important conversation that we must have.

02:52:32 But I appreciate you all for making time

02:52:34 to join Benjamin and I this morning on the AM Show.

02:52:37 It's a real pleasure to bring you what's trending,

02:52:41 what's important every morning.

02:52:43 And most importantly, when we hear from you,

02:52:46 it really gladdens our hearts.

02:52:48 So thank you for reaching out to us.

02:52:50 But that'll be it for this morning's edition

02:52:52 of the AM Show.

02:52:53 From my team and myself, we say a very good morning to you.

02:52:57 Please don't leave us yet.

02:52:59 Coming up shortly, top of the hour is Newsdesk.

02:53:03 Please stay with us.

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