Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta will assume Chairmanship of the World Bank/IMF Development Committee at the 2018 Annual Meetings in Bali in October 2018.

The Development Committee is a joint committee of the boards of governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which advises the Bank and the IMF on critical development issues and the resources needed to promote economic development. 

The Committee usually meets twice a year following the IMFC meeting.

The Development Committee has 25 members (usually ministers of finance or development) who together represent the full membership of the IMF and World Bank.

Africa Finance Minister of the Year

Meanwhile, World Bank president Jim Kim and former president of Ghana John Mahama have both congratulated Mr Ofori-Atta on his appointment as chairman of the Development Committee of the World Bank and award as Africa Finance Minister of the Year.

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, won the prestigious Best Finance Minister for Africa award for 2018. 

London-based magazine, The Banker, published by the Financial Times Group since 1926, conferred the award on him at a side event of the 2018 African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual meetings in Busan, South Korea.

“I will like to thank the Almighty God for this realisation, as we could not have achieved what we achieved for the country but for His divine interventions and miracles”, Ken-Ofori Atta said in his acceptance speech in Busan.

The award acknowledges Ken Ofori-Atta’s role in restoring macroeconomic stability, renewed confidence in the Ghanaian economy and other key successes achieved upon the assumption of office as Ghana’s Finance Minister on January 27, 2017.  

“The vision, direction, and the challenge thrown by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to create a Ghana Beyond Aid, amply motivated us to drive on to achieve these results. 

With this vision of building a self-confident Ghana that takes more effective control of its affairs and efficiently harnesses and utilizes its resources to rapidly transform the economy and create opportunities for all, to him I say a big thank you”, he said.

With his wealth of knowledge in the Ghanaian and international financial sector over the past 30 years, and with just one year in office as Finance Minister, the country has seen tremendous changes in its economic indicators, while being under the International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility (IMF ECF) programme.

Ghana’s GDP grew from 3.7% in 2016 to 8.5% in 2017; inflation declined from 15.4% in 2016 to the current 9.6% in April 2018; the fiscal deficit of 9.3% in 2016 reduced to 5.9% in 2017 and the debt to GDP ratio of 73.1% in 2016 declined to 69.2% end in 2017.

The Finance Minister also expressed profound appreciation to the Economic Management Team, headed by Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, Senior Minister, Deputy Ministers and Management and Staff of the Ministry for their support and hard work.

“We also have to recognize the role played by the IMF in this journey. Their advice and surveillance have no doubt positively influenced the outcome we are seeing today. They will continue to be our trusted advisors even after we successfully exit from the ECF programme at the end of 2018”, he added. 

Ken Ofori-Atta is leading an eight (8) member delegation to the 53rd African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings in Busan, South Korea, from 21st – 27th May 2018. 

Before becoming Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta co-founded Databank Group in 1990 in Ghana. Prior to that, he was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers on Wall Street in New York.  He has other business interests in Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Microfinance, Pharmaceuticals and Real Estate.

The award

This award goes to the African Minister of Finance who has carried through prudent macroeconomic policies and, through reforms and his or her actions, has shown skills and dexterity to create the conditions of an appealing investment climate.