The Minority Caucus in Parliament has slammed Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh for his comments on the National Investment Bank’s (NIB) problems.
Annoh-Dompreh had toned down the Minority’s plea for the government to reorganise the failing bank in order to keep it from being liquidated.
The Majority Chief Whip had requested that the Minority refrain from politicising the matter and instead encourage the government to recapitalize the bank.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Wednesday, the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, said, “What the government should be encouraged and urged to do is to help in the recapitalization but not to run down the bank. So, our colleagues in the Minority should stop this politicization of all matters, especially matters related to the financial sector.”
“If they don’t have the facts, they should just be patient, investigate, and get the facts before they come out.”
In response, Isaac Adongo, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, remarked on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, “We want people who believe they understand the issues, have command of the issues, and have something to offer on the table.” We presented NIB with extremely specific answers. He (Annoh-Dompreh) did not propose a single remedy during his discourse. So, who is politicising the problem between us and him? He confesses that, since 2017, NIB has failed to publish the mandatory audited financial reports. That is the biggest red signal that anyone with even a passing knowledge of finance would be concerned about, and if I were the CEO of NIB, I would be silent. Annoh-Dompreh isn’t aware of the gravity of the situation.”
“The NIB has outsourced its treasury function to a brokerage firm, in which they share a profit of 60% to the brokerage firm and 40% to NIB when NIB has a full-fledged treasury department headed by a general manager…This is not an easy matter. This is a technical financial subject, and we shouldn’t be allowing people who just come and speak English to be discussing technical matters that are beyond them.”
