Audio By Carbonatix
Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah has chided the opposition NPP for resisting the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity Fund.
According to him, the New Patriotic Party has no sufficient basis to mount the strident oppostition it has staged against the deal.
"The NPP has just decided to throw mud, they have become permit my saying, rebels without cause," he said.
The campaign against the acquistion of the state-owned bank, Merchant Bank, by Fortiz Equity Fund, has been gaining momentum.
At a news conference Thursday, the Minority in Parliament led by MP for New Juabeng South, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, said the deal was simply a fraudulent attempt by government to short-change Ghanaians.
He said there was lack of due diligence in the acquistion and wondered why a comparatively better offer by South African company, First Rand, was rejected by majority shareholder of Merchant Bank, the Social Security and National Insurnce Trust (SSNIT). First Rand offered to pay 176.4 million Ghana cedis for 75 percent of SSNIT's shares in Merchant Bank but the offer was rejected.
FORTIZ, is, however, buying 90 per cent stake in the bank for 90 million Ghana cedis.
Mr. Dr. Assibey Yeboah the deal was a "scam". The opposition party says SSNIT and the Bank of Ghana which approved the deal must offer further explanation regarding the sale.
But speaking on Joy FM and MultiTV's news analysis programme, Newsfile, Saturday, Dr. Omane Boamah, said the opposition party is simply politicising the sale because President John Mahama's brother, Ibrahim Mahama, is linked to the high debt portfolio of Merchant Bank which has occasioned its sale.
He argued the deal is genuine because international auditing firm KPMG acted as the transactional advisor to SSNIT.
"KPMG is a very credible institution," he said.
He said "a more responsible" action the NPP could have taken, would have been to summon the Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, to answer questions concerning the deal.
"If it is information you are seeking, why don't you say so," he quizzed.
He expressed confidence in the deal and suggested the NPP was no match for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) as far as prudent management of the country is concerned.
"If it is about project for project, programme for programme, policy for policy, there is no way they can beat the NDC in 2016," he boasted.
Latest Stories
-
Brandon Asante and Coventry all but promoted to Premier League despite Sheffield Wednesday draw
8 minutes -
GPL 2025/26: Late Kwartemaa strike downs Hearts in Tema
14 minutes -
Ghana Faces Sierra Leone Moment as Prosecutorial Powers come under strain
24 minutes -
Don’t consume fish or seafood from Tema Shipyard until further notice – FDA warns
28 minutes -
Why volunteering might be Africa’s most underrated career accelerator
35 minutes -
ActionAid Ghana raises concern over gender gaps in Feed Ghana Programme
37 minutes -
Windstorm wreaks havoc in Gushegu, displacing nearly 2,000 residents and damaging schools
39 minutes -
Friends of Bridget Bonnie Marks her 35th birthday with donation to Kasseh Model Health Centre
1 hour -
From Ekumfi Kokodo to the Pulpit Stage: Essi Donkor’s gospel journey takes shape
2 hours -
Landfilling waste management creates no value, it’s an economic waste
2 hours -
Photos: Speaker Bagbin Commissions MPs constituency office under parliamentary decentralisation programme
2 hours -
Black Stars technical advisor Winfried Schäfer sacked as GFA shakes up backroom staff
2 hours -
Wenchi water project almost complete, critical to gov’t agenda – GWL MD
3 hours -
Anti-LGBTQ+ bill not part of government’s legislative agenda – Inusah Fuseini
3 hours -
Anti-LGBTQ Bill: Forget the rumour mongers, I’m a man of action, and will pass the bill – Speaker
3 hours