ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
The Minority therefore requested for the full complement of requisite documents to guide and facilitate a thorough scrutiny and due diligence of the proposed deal in accordance with article 185 of the 1992 constitution.
Key amongst these requisite documents were: • the prospectus for the eventual sale of shares in Agyapa through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.
The prospectus would contain more important details of the deal such as projected cashflows, underlying assumptions and the dividend policy.
• incorporation details for the SPV, Agyapa Royalties • detailed justification for the choice of Jersey, a known tax haven • fiscal impact assessment Ladies and gentlemen, to our utter dismay, the Minister of Finance refused to make these key documents available to us on the excuse that they were in draft form and for reasons of confidentiality, could not to be shared even with the elected representatives of the people of Ghana.
This decision of the Finance Minister is in clear violation of Article 181(5) of the Constitution which requires that such documents together with the agreements be laid before Parliament for approval As a direct consequence of this concealment of vital information from the people of Ghana, the debate on the floor of Parliament was extremely acrimonious, and eventually, the Members of the Minority in Parliament were compelled to stage a walkout as a clear statement of our intent to protect the national interest at all cost.
THE MINORITY’S POSITION Ladies and gentlemen, the Minority in Parliament would like to state unequivocally that a future NDC government will not honour the terms of this unconscionable agreement as described by the current Attorney-General.
Pursuant to this, we wish to state as follows: a) The NDC is of the strong view that the decision to mortgage Ghana’s future mineral royalties in perpetuity is grossly inimical to the interest of the people of Ghana and runs contrary to the constitutional imperative that governmental power is exercised for the welfare of the people of Ghana.
This deal fails to enhance public welfare.
Our analysis shows clearly that Ghana stands to lose billions of United States Dollars in revenue as a consequence of this illegal transaction.
This is because annual gold royalties from the mining sector amount to about ¢200 Million on the average.
It makes no economic sense, therefore, to mortgage these receivables to an opaque Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in exchange for an upfront amount of just ¢500 million.
b) To ensure the deal meets best international practices, the Minority demanded that Parliament be furnished with periodic reports on the activities of the SPV in the spirit of accountability and transparency.
These legitimate demands were vehemently opposed by the government and the majority side in parliament.
c) Minority’s specific concerns on the offshore entity (Agyapa Royalties) i. The incorporation of Agyapa as an offshore company in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, a known tax haven, is worrying.
Tax havens are generally known for their lack of transparency in matters of corporate governance such as disclosure of the beneficial ownership of the shares of companies.
Tax havens are susceptible to money-laundering and thus elevate the risk of Ghana being listed as a money-laundering jurisdiction by international bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations.
Ghanaians will recall that in May 2020, the European Union placed Ghana on its Anti-Money Laundering List (AML) but deferred the implementation date to October 1, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
By setting up a sovereign wealth fund in a tax haven, the Government of the NPP significantly elevates the risk of Ghana being considered as a money-laundering jurisdiction.
This is because individuals and businesses use tax havens such as Jersey to hide their income and wealth so as to avoid payment of taxes and general regulatory scrutiny of their business deals.
The European Union, the OECD and the United Nations use evidence of these offshore deals to rate countries on the effectiveness of their anti-money laundering regimes, including laws, regulations, policies, and other governmental actions.
d) Minority’s concerns on off-budget transaction.
The deal is intended to monetize gold royalties to fund the Budget and ought to have been reflected in the Budget Statements tabled for approval and subsequently enacted in the various Appropriation Acts for the 2020 Fiscal Year.
The deal did not reflect in the Budget Statement for the 2020 Fiscal Year.
e) In reviewing the 2020 Substantive and Supplementary Budgets, the Government did not disclose any of the following fiscal measures to Parliament.
i. That the MIIF will substantively replace the Mineral Development Fund (MDF) from 2020, as the Government noted; ii.
There was no policy on how current MDF beneficiaries, including traditional authorities, will continue to get their share of mineral royalties; and iii.
There were no explicit provisions in Financing (or borrowing) and Public Debt in the Budgets from 2020 onwards, besides the International Monetary Fund (IMF) COVID Loan.
The Government showed the mineral (gold) monetization “explicitly” in December 2019 as a potential source of financing the Budget in the IMF Article IV Report—but did not do so in the 2019 Budget approved by Parliament in the same December 2020. v. In March 2020, in applying for the IMF COVID-19 Loan (approved in May 2020), GOG took the opposite step in excluding the minerals (gold) royalty monetization from the financing sources.
The Government also excluded mineral royalty monetization from its COVID-19 Statements to Parliament in March and May as well as Supplementary Budget in July 2020. f ) Minority’s Concerns on Family and Friends transaction.
This transaction is yet another classical case of family and friends transaction.
The good people of this country need to know the following.
Ghanaians are demanding answers.
i. We need to know the procurement processes used in selecting Africa Legal Associates (ALA) as legal advisors.
ALA is owned by Gabby Otchere Darko, the cousin of both President Akufo-Addo and Ken Ofori Atta, the Finance Minister.
We also need to know the cost of the transaction and how much has been paid to the lawyers, and brokers including Gabby's company.
We need to know whether the amount of money paid to Gabby's company was at arm’s length.
Considering Gabby's relationship with the finance minister and the president we also need to satisfy ourselves that he did not use his influence with decision makers to secure this lucrative deal.
v. Why the choice of Kofi Osafo Marfo, son of Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo?
Was he subjected to a credible international competitive selection process?
What considerations went into determining the remuneration for Mr.
Osafo Mafo's son?
Did his father (the senior minister) influence the selection process?
Ghanaians deserve to know.
Why is he, together with other board members guaranteed employment for the foreseeable future irrespective of their output?
g) Minority’s concerns on conflict of Interest.
Gabby Otchere-Darko's law firm advising on this shady Agyapa deal is similar to the objectionable practice of Databank serving as a book runner on government bonds or co-manager of Eurobonds.
All these transactions are motivated by fees which are certain and paid upfront.
These fees partly explain the rapid growth in public debt.
A key driver of the ballooning public debt under the Akufo-Addo government is the fees earned by the Finance Minister’s company, Databank.
The selection of Databank Brokerage Limited as a book-runner means that Databank profits every time the Government issues bonds on the domestic market.
The actual commission is not based on the debt stock but on gross issuance (including refinancing) on the domestic market which in 2019 alone amounted to whopping ¢64.0 billion.
Since 2017, Databank has also been a Co-Manager of Ghana’s Eurobond transactions.
During this period, Ghana has issued $5 billion in Eurobonds, with commissions and fees paid to Lead Managers and Co-Managers.
It is difficult to see how the Minister can be restrained from borrowing for Ghana if his firm benefits on a commission each time the government issues domestic bonds or Eurobonds.
Indeed in 2018 when CHRAJ investigated conflict of interest allegations against the Minister of Finance in the matter of the issuance of $2.25 billion of bonds, the Commission observed that the respondent is either a director, the former director, the shareholder, or beneficial owner, of several companies whose objects relate to the securities market sector.
The companies were Databank and EGL.
As such, Respondent’s interests in the growth and wellbeing of those companies, have the potential to conflict with the interests of the state in relation to the securities market such as the issuance of bonds.
h) Minority’s concerns on the secrecy of information on the company (Agyapa).
i. The Government has failed to give us information on the value of the company.
We were not given information on how they arrived at the value of the company.
We were also not given cashflow forecast for the duration of the project and its assumptions.
Neither do we have the prospectus for us to know the cost of the transaction.
We are reliable informed that they have spent $5 million even though the minister of finance claimed to have spent about $2 million as fees.
i) Minority’s concerns on Fiscal issues.
This current NPP administration has mortgaged all our major revenue streams, and this has serious fiscal implications.
i. They have mortgaged Getfund receivables.
They have mortgaged Energy sector levies iii.
They have mortgaged Bauxite with synohydro.
They have mortgaged the Road Fund, and as if this is not enough, they now want to mortgage mineral royalties.
THE ASSET IS GROSSLY UNDERVALUED PER CURRENT VALUATION.
According to the government, the total royalties from the concessions is about US$150m per annum (very conservative figure).
Agyapa is assigned 75.6% of this amount.
That’s over US$113m per annum.
The deal is structured such that it can run into perpetuity.
Using the conventional discount rate (DR) of 5%, the Present Value (PV) of the cash flow is over US$2b.
If a DR of 3% is used, the PV is over US$3.7b.
Even if the transaction has the purported tenor of 15 years, the PV of the cash flow is nearly US$1.7b.
So where is the government getting the US$1b valuation of Agyapa from?
Is the difference the result of transactional and/or other hidden costs?
If this transaction goes on in its current form, we are going to see an oversubscription at the IPO because it promises unreasonably high returns to investors.
CONCLUSION • The use of a tax haven as location for an investment fund, while under AML scrutiny, is risky for Ghana.
• We will, after today’s press conference, put the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Conduct Authority on notice that this agreement does not meet the required due diligence and transparency, and a substantial level of conflict of interest runs through the structuring of the agreement.
The Agreement, is therefore, tainted with some corrupt acts.
• The Minority wish to state emphatically that the SPV and its accompanying agreements as structured by the current Government is not just opaque but inimical to the interest of the Republic of Ghana.
We therefore wish to completely disassociate ourselves with the proposed relationship agreement and subsequent flotation of shares on the London Stock Exchange and further serve notice that a future NDC Government will have no choice but to review the Relationship Agreement and the other accompanying approvals.
Government's Incompetence in the Management of Covid-19 in Ghana.
Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, we thank you sincerely for your quick response to our call although at very short notice.
This press conference is focused on sharing with you our views on how the NPP Government under H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo is failing to bring under control the Covid-19 pandemic in this country and make recommendations for consideration.
But before we begin, want to take this opportunity to thank all our Health workers who have demonstrated courage and love to lead in the fight against Covid-19.
Many have sacrificed their lives and families to give life to infected patients.
Some have even died while on duty.
We indeed appreciate their efforts and to those who lost their lives may their souls rest in peace.
Ladies and Gentlemen, since the outbreak of this pandemic, government has not shown competence in the management of the virus.
The first two (2) cases of Covid-19 in Ghana were reported in March, 2020.
This was after Government failed to be proactive in closing our borders early.
Since then, Ghana's confirmed cases has increased exponentially to 71,533 as of 8th February this year and records more than 700 newly confirmed cases daily with current active cases of 6,411.
At the last count, Ghana has lost 472 lives to the virus as of yesterday with about 137 or 29% of these deaths occurring only this year.
The trend of infections and death is worrying and if nothing is done immediately to arrest the situation our outturn with Covid would be a complete disaster.
Information from Ghana Health Service shows that about 32% of confirmed cases now report to medical centres sick as compared to 21% in 2020.
Our positivity rates for routine surveillance and enhanced contact tracing all now hover above 10%.
This means for every 100 Ghanaians who turn out for testing or are contact traced, 10 of them have the virus.
This calls for increased routine surveillance and more contact tracing before the situation gets out of hand.
But in spite of the urgent need contact tracing, it is currently at its barest minimum with government not willing to engage contract contact tracers after suspending their services in April of last year.
Also with the discovery of the new variant of Covid-19 in Ghana, one would expect that experienced frontline health professionals would be deployed to man our Covid-19 health centres but sadly this is not the case simply because government has reneged on its promise to pay some frontline healthcare professionals their 50% allowances and the insurance packages for those who get infected or die in the line of duty.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Covid-19 situation is getting out of hand considering its toll on our human capital.
Many prominent and highly experienced Ghanaians serving in critical positions of our socioeconomic system are dying - doctors, lawyers, teachers, chiefs, ambassadors, religious leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, etc.
And it is becoming apparent to all that Ghana is losing the fight against the virus due to poor leadership.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his technical team of advisors have not demonstrated enough competence in handling this pandemic contrary to all they have been trumpeting.
Rate of infections are increasing.
Technical guidelines on prevention and management are not being enforced.
Contact Tracing has been abandoned.
Disappointed health workers have chosen not to join Covid teams due to failure on government's part to fulfil its promises to them.
Public health facilities are collapsing under heavy financial constraints due to lack of adequate subventions from government to finance the procurement of goods and services.
We hear of no PPEs, no oxygen for patients desperately in need of oxygen, case testing longer routine and no free walk-in tests, etc.
Evidence on the ground now point to increased cross infections among Covid-19 and non-COVID-19 patients and caregivers due to overcrowding at health facilities, Long delays in the delivery of test results is also putting patients and caregivers at risk of infection.
To make matters worse, schools have reopened without taking full deliveries of PPEs and there has been little or no engagement with parents, teachers and other stakeholders on how to manage the schools all leading to outbreaks of infections in some senior high schools across the country.
Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a vacuum in the public space as to how to address our current situation because government has not also put adequate resources on public education of Covid-19, Media houses are using their resources to educate the public as a corporate social responsibility, Also, the manner in which government managed donations from Corporate and other benevolent individuals and organisation as well as government's glaring lack of support to health facilities has caused many donors to withdraw their support for the fight against the virus.
All these point to the gross incompetence of our government in addressing the Covid-19 challenge in Ghana.
Ladies and Gentlemen, although there is more than enough reason to weep we will not end this as a statement of lamentations.
We have a few recommendations that we believed if implemented will go a long way to stem the tide of failures in the management of COVID-19 in Ghana, 1.
Government should as a matter of urgency dissolve the Technical Advisory Team formed in 2020 and recompose a Technical Team that is multidisciplinary and non-partisan, competent enough to direct on the management of Covid-19 in the country.
Government should release enough funds to the Regional and District Health Teams to enhance contact tracing and case testing and pay all the monies promised Health workers.
As a matter of urgency expand more management facilities and build capacity to handle the many severe cases that are likely to be confirmed.
Schools should be adequately resourced and supported to make the environment safe from Covid-19.
The media should be considered by the Government and given enough financial and other resources to enable them carry out public education on Covid-19.
We entreat all people living in Ghana to strictly comply with the Covid-19 safety protocols to prevent further spread of the infection.
Government should ensure that protocols relating to the discharge of deceased Covid-19 patients should be strictly enforced to reduce the potential of increasing the community spread of the virus.
In conclusion, with the upsurge in Covid-19 cases Ghana, we urge the Government to show seriousness, evaluate and review the management of the pandemic in this country.
Dear Shareholders, It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 4th Annual General Meeting as a publicly listed company, to share with you the report of your company’s activities and business performance for the year ended December 31, 2021.
2021 in review 2021 was a special year for MTN Ghana, as it marked 25 years of providing vital telecommunications and digital services to Ghanaians.
During this period, MTN Ghana played its part in improving the lives of Ghanaians as well as enabling growth of businesses and the economy.
We commemorated the milestone by celebrating the loyalty and trust we have received from our valued customers, our people and all stakeholders including our trade partners, our technology partners, our business collaborators, our regulators and our media partners, who have made this journey possible.
We also commissioned three landmark projects in Health and ICT skills development as part of our corporate social investments as well as extending our scholarship program to support 300 students over three years into local tertiary institutions.
These initiatives reflect our commitment to the people of Ghana in the communities within which we operate, to promote health, education and economic empowerment as part of our Corporate Social Investments.
To crown the year, we delivered strong financial results in line with our market guidance and achieved growth across our key business segments in a world that continued to be impacted by COVID-19.
Operational review As the nation navigated through unprecedented times, we continued to demonstrate and live our ‘Can Do’ value through sustained investments, sound operational execution and resilience in delivering continued growth in our core business during 2021.
Service revenue grew by 28.5%, driven mainly by increased investment in the network and delivery of commercial initiatives which resulted in growth of our customer base and demand for our services.
Our customers remained our key focus and we continued to invest in digitalising our customer support services and improving our flagship MyMTN app.
We improved our support as well as elevated the available self-service options.
For example, MTN customers are now able to check their bills, look at call records and data spend and also seek help among other services on the MyMTN app.
We remained committed to truly putting the customer at the heart of the organisation to achieve high levels of advocacy, measured through our Net Promoter Score (NPS).
The pandemic heightened our need to align our focus on addressing essential customer needs with empathy, care and concern.
We enhanced our customer service resolution through a variety of different channels including our customer service digital channels and the use of social media to listen to and improve our understanding of customer sentiments.
The pandemic and ongoing changes in the world showed how critical connectivity and digital services are to society.
We have seen demand for mobile connectivity grow rapidly every year and we continue to invest a significant amount of money in making our network even better.
In 2021, we invested a total Capex of ¢1.5 billion supporting infrastructure modernisation, expansion of 4G population coverage to over 90.6% (+18.9pp) and improvements to the quality of service.
Improvements to network capacity and quality were made possible by rolling out 131 2G, 120 3G and 1,446 4G sites and modernising 2,121 existing 4G sites.
We extended 4G network and data services to an additional 1.7 million people, deepening digital inclusion in Ghana.
Investments in the network and IT systems, coupled with the execution of our commercial strategy, enabled the expansion of the subscriber base by 1.0 million YoY to 25.4 million.
These investments combined with changes in consumer usage patterns resulted in active data user growth of 15.3% YoY with a corresponding growth of 34.3% in megabytes consumed per active subscriber.
The growth in subscriber numbers, product enhancements and innovations around customer value management supported growth in voice revenue by 4.9% YoY to GHS2.6 billion.
The contribution of voice to service revenue consequently declined from 41.8% to 34.1% YoY in favour of increased contributions from data and Mobile Money.
Data revenue grew by 56.3% YoY to GHS2.8 billion.
This was a result of increased data traffic (+54.9%) owing to various commercial interventions, improvements to the network, changes in consumer usage behaviour and an increased number of smartphones on the network (+10.6%).
The contribution of data to service revenue increased from 29.6% to 36.0% YoY in line with our revenue diversification strategy.
Active MoMo users recovered from the challenges in H1 2021 to achieve a growth of 3.8% YoY.
We expanded our MoMo distribution and footprint across the nation through the growth in active agents (+18.7% YoY).
We also expanded merchants (+29.9% YoY) to bring our services much closer to our customers and to further enhance financial inclusion.
Growth in Mobile Money advanced service offerings such as retail merchant payments, micro loans, insurance and international remittances supported an increase in Mobile Money revenue by 38.2% YoY to GHS1.7 billion.
The contribution of Mobile Money to service revenue increased from 20.9% to 22.5% YoY.
Enhancements were made to allow the sale of airtime to all other operators on our MoMo service on USSD and MyMTN app, as part of our intent to achieve MoMo universality in the ecosystem.
We further enhanced the integration of Mobile Money service into our ayoba super app, and this helped drive customer experience and transactional activity on the super app.
Digital revenue declined by 5.1% YoY to GHS0.2 million.