The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana have constituted a five-member consultative committee to act as the liaison between the two state agencies and the financial services industry in developing a debt management strategy that meets the expectations of the government and the private sector investors.
The work of the committee is also expected to ensure “orderliness and confidence in the government’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” a statement issued by the Finance Ministry said.
It said the committee would be chaired by a former Chief Executive Officer of the Ecobank Group, Albert Essien, and has the former Managing Director of GCB Bank Plc, Simon Dornoo, as the Vice Chairman.
The press statement, which was issued by the Public Affairs Department of the ministry, added that other members were Alex Asiedu, Mabel Nyarkoa Porbley, and Peter Enti.
It said the committee will be consultative and will, among other things, lead discussions with the financial services industry and other stakeholders to provide industry-wide inputs and transmit industry concerns on debt management strategy to the MoF and BoG.
“The expectations and goals are to ensure orderliness and confidence in the government’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” the statement said.
Background
The statement explained that the formation of the committed followed the Press Briefing held by the Ministry of Finance on September 26, 2022, in which the Finance Minister announced plans to constitute a committee that would collate the views and concerns of the financial services sector in developing a debt strategy.
The statement said following from that, ministry the central bank constituted the committee “consisting of prominent financial services professionals to lead extensive stakeholder engagements across all the key segments of the financial sector.”
External sector
“As announced during the ministry’s press briefing, a similar engagement will be undertaken with our external bondholders.
“The stability of the domestic financial ecosystem is critical to a successful IMF-supported economic programme and the government will take all necessary steps to protect the sector as we have done in the past.
“We need the support and trust of all Ghanaians to ensure that a historic arrangement is reached with the IMF.
“We are confident that such engagement and collaboration will enable us to recover very quickly and strongly from our current macroeconomic challenges,” it said.
Biography of members of the independent consultative committee on financial sector
Albert Essien
Albert is a seasoned financial specialist with 30 years of experience in the banking sector. He is the former CEO of Ecobank Group. Albert serves on several boards including the Development Finance Institute (Fin Dev), Canada, Old Mutual – South Africa, LMI Holdings as well as Jumo Africa. He is also the Board Chairman of Ghana Amalgamated Trust. Albert holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana.
Simon Dornoo
Simon is a seasoned financial specialist with over 30 years’ experience in banking and finance. He was the Managing Director of GCB Bank Plc from 2010 to 2016 and a Past President of the Ghana Association of Banks. He worked with Barclays Bank Ghana Limited and Barclays Plc, United Kingdom. He also worked at Cal Bank. Simon holds an MBA Finance from Manchester University, UK and he is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana. He is also a member of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency.
Alex Asiedu
Alex is an experienced Capital Market Expert and currently heads Standard Bank’s Africa Regions investment portfolio (excluding South Africa). Prior to this role, Alex was the Managing Director of Stanlib Ghana Limited (now SIMS). Alex holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Ghana and a Master’s degree in Economics (Finance specialization) from Queen’s University, Canada. He is a Yale World Fellow and a member of the CFA institute.
Mabel Nyarkoa Porbley
Mabel is a seasoned insurance expert. She is the Managing Director of Sanlam General Insurance Ghana LTD, a subsidiary of Sanlam Group. Prior to this, Mabel was the Managing Director for NSIA Insurance Ghana. Mabel holds a diploma in Education and BA degree in Management Studies from the University of Cape Coast. She has an Executive Masters in Business Administration from GIMPA. Mabel is a chartered insurer from the CII UK.
Peter Enti
Peter is a seasoned expert in advisory services including Pensions with over 13 years’ experience. He is currently a partner at Nubuke Business Investment Advisory. Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics & Statistics from University of Ghana, a Master’s degree in Accounting & Finance from London School of Economics, and is a member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Source: graphic.com.gh
