ADB questions gov't figures

... and commitment to agricultural sector

The Agricultural Development Bank has reacted to a publication in the dailyEXPRESS which was based on an interview with the Government’s spokesman on finance & economy Kwaku Kwarteng.

The report headlined ‘ADB will surely go’ summarised the dailyEXPRESS’ conclusion after analysing the government’s 2007 budget, considered the opinion of some leading members of government, and the confirmation of the issued raised by the Government spokesman.

In a reaction, the ADB senior staff association said not only have they noticed Mr. Kwarteng’s tendency to bandy statistics about, they are also not sure which research government conducted “to come out with the hunger for agric credit.”

In a rejoinder signed by Sanjay Mirchandani, PRO of the Group, the Association also provided what it termed the ADB’s perspective and asked government to distinguish “effective demand from potential demand.”

Their rejoinder came just about the period the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission; J. H. Mensah issued a statement in support of the disposal of the Central bank’s shares in the ADB.

Below is the full rejoinder from the ADB Senior Staff Association. I read with interest your article on the above subject in today’s edition of the dailyEXPRESS Business. I’ve realized with disdain the tendency of Kwaku Kwarteng to bandy statistics about without relating them to actual figures. Which research did they conduct to come out with the hunger for Agric Credit? 1. They should learn to distinguish Effective Demand from Potential Demand. 2. What recapitalization are they talking about with respect to ADB? 3. Does the Government have a policy on Agricultural Development? 4. Which Country in the world runs a Development Institution/Bank with private funds? 5. If they are truly committed to Agricultural Development in Ghana, why don’t they Channel the dividends they take from ADB to develop the needed infrastructure for the sector? 6. Is ADB not the highest capitalized Bank in the Country? Please find attached a fact sheet on ADB. I will be available for any questions you might have. Thank you. Sanjay Mirchandani, PRO Senior Staff Association/ ADB