How Ofori-Atta elbowed Togbe Afede’s outfit as Eurobond bookrunners in 2017 – Martin Kpebu explains

Lawyer Martin Kpebu has insisted that Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, remains stuck in a conflict-of-interest situation because of the involvement of Databank – a company he has interest in – in Ghana’s activity on the capital market.

In 2015 under the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration, there was the Ghana Fixed Income Market where

Read full articlethree outfits were appointed as bookrunners for Ghana’s Eurobond issuance.

The three joint bookrunners, Kpebu said, were Togbe Afede’s Strategic Africa Securities, SAS, Stanbic Bank and Barclays bank, “they were doing this trade and advising government in 2015.”

According to him when their tenure ended in 2017, Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister reconstituted this team of bookrunners “where they elbowed out Strategic Africa Securities, they elbowed them out.

“Everybody knows Togbe Afede has been in this industry for God knows how long. They were elbowed out and then GCB bank and Fidelity Bank were brought in. That is where they now also gave Black Star Brokerage, that is Adu Boahen’s company to also trade,” he stated on Joy FM' Newsfile programme, August 20, 2022.

He dared the Finance Ministry to make public how Black Star Brokerage – which was founded by former deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu Boahen, got the clearance to involve itself in the Eurobond market from 2017.

“Adu Boahen was walking here with a very small company in his armpit. Come on, we have seen him before, he was walking with the company in his armpit, it was a very small company.

“So they should show, what were the statistics in 2017 at the time they came into office in respect of Black Star Brokerage, they were next to nothing. Then, because the joint bookrunners was reconstituted (in) which SAS was elbowed out… how was Togbe Afede’s company elbowed out in 2017, was it on merit? How did Black Stars Brokerage get in?” he quizzed.

According to him, SAS was axed to give BSB the opportunity to trade and get a huge market share then, a bond specialist was appointed at which time BSL had accumulated a big market share.

“And I am telling you on authority, let’s go and review what was the profile of Black Star Brokerage in 2017, 2018,” he challenged host, Samson Lardy Anyenini.

Recent critique of Ofori-Atta and Databank's alleged 'Eurobond gains'

KKD, this week became the latest critic of Ken Ofori-Atta's alleged conflict of interest position in government's Eurobond transactions.

According to him, the minister is benefiting at the expense of the country.

“I read a report yesterday that broke my heart, I saw how much Ghana owes but I also found that apparently, the minister of finance’s company or former company is a transaction advisor to the monies that we borrow. So as Ghana gets poorer, the minister of finance’s company or former company gets richer,” he stated when he appeared as a guest on GTV’s Breakfast Show programme.

Describing the situation as unacceptable, KKD accused parliament of also failing to defend the interest of the country by allowing such a practice to fester.

“Is this how we want to continue in this country? Do we want to elect people into office, give them their pay and their perks and then allow them and their friends and their companies or their former companies to be the very beneficiaries of the woes of our country?

"This is not only about the finance minister of finance; this is about parliament. Parliament, you must be ashamed of yourself.

"You have failed the people of Ghana because I don’t think from the time of Nkrumah to date, whoever is the minister for finance should be benefiting every time our country goes to borrow money. Is that what happened?’’ he questioned.

“Look we have leaders of the industry, some who have been deprived of their finances and in the meantime, the people who are sitting in power are stealing us blind and all people can tell me is oh this is general knowledge,” he fumed.

SARA