Who Manages the Economy for Mills?

Conspicuously missing from the list of government officials released by the 3-week old government of Prof. John Atta Mills is perhaps the most important position in these difficult economic times, the minister of finance and economic planning.

Currently the ministry is run jointly by three members of the economic transition team, namely former Bank of Ghana Governor and CPP big wig, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor; deputy finance minister under the NDC and member of Parliament for Nabdam Hon. Moses Asag, and Togbe Afede (known in private life as James Akpo), CEO of Strategic African Securities and one of the main financiers of the NDC in the 2008 campaign.

But insiders say forces in and out of the government, including Ghana ’s development partners, are pressing Prof. Mills to appoint a substantive minister before February to assure the business community that he means business. The professor however is said to be having difficulties in selecting a substantive minister from a large pool of highly qualified candidates, including the three.

The same insiders say that although Tobge Afede currently heads the transition he is unlikely to get the nod to head the ministry because of his status as a chief. Until recently, he was also widely believed to be a sympathizer of the NPP, and indeed many were those who were surprised to see him at the head of the NDC transition team.

But even if he is given the nod, questions remains about whether he can combine the demands of the office with his personal business pursuits, including the mulit-million joint-ventureship with the Chinese to produce energy (currently under construction), his involvement with Ghana Aluminium Company, as well as the half a dozen other companies that he currently run in Ghana and other parts of the African continent. The mostly likely consolation prize for him would be chairmanship of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, where his skills in bringing in foreign investment, especially from China , will help strengthen the struggling institution originally created by the PNDC.

Dr. Duffuor was the governor of Bank of Ghana under the NDC but was quickly dumped by the NPP amidst accusations of mismanagement. He is reportedly to have remained angry since then and has been looking for an opportunity to “show” the NPP. Currently a business magnate (he owns Star Assurance and Unibank), he is said to have over 30 years’ experience in commercial and central banking, having worked with the London office of Ghana Commercial Bank before taking over the central bank.. With Togbe Afede almost out of the picture, Duffuor is said to be in strong contention to be minister. Insiders say, he has already been interviewed by the prof himself and is only in a “holding pattern”, pending the appointment of other ministers. However, should he finally get the nod, Dr. Duffuor, who has entertained presidential ambitions in the past, would require permission from the CPP’s central committee or quit the party altogether to avoid suffering from the “Nduom effect” in his future political ambitions.

Those in the party who want one of their own to be minister are rooting for Hon. Asaga, who was stripped of his post as minority spokesperson on finance a few years back because he was considered to be too soft on the NPP on economic matters and made spokesperson on energy matters. Many believe despite that treatment, he is the most suitable candidate for the position.

Having worked at the ministry before, and as a ranking member of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, he has a distinct advantage over the rest. He also previously worked in places as diverse as the United States and South Korea , and in Ghana with both GNPC and ECOBANK. He is highly respected in the donor community too, an asset he will need to steer the affairs of the ministry through difficult economic times.

Other names on the transition team who have been mentioned as potential ministers or deputy ministers at the finance ministry are economist Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, the man who single-handedly wrote the CPP’s popular manifesto but later resigned from the party after falling out with the CPP’s flagbearer over policy and direction, and Hon. Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, deputy minister of finance under the NDC until he was replaced by Hon. Asaga in 1996.

Unimpeachable sources say Dr. Thompson enjoys wide support in the NDC but is unlikely to give up his post as a UN consultant, rumoured to be earning over US$15,000 a month, to join a government which the NDC itself says is “broke”. But even if he wants to join the government he cannot do so as a minister because he is said to hold dual American-Ghanaian citizenship, a situation which is likely to raise the debate that Ghana ’s dual citizenship laws unnecessarily prevents the country from benefiting from the skills of his citizens at home and abroad. (Once in a radio interview, Dr. Thompson said that Ghana’s dual citizen law makes it possible for him to become the Treasury Secretary of America but impossible for him to become even a deputy finance minister in Ghana). Despite these stumbling blocks, Prof. Mills is said to be keen on working with Dr. Thompson and may offer him a position at economic advisor at the Castle or Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, neither of which requires parliamentary approval but provides direct access to the presidency. The economic management team also remains a possibility.

Amissah-Arthur, the deputy chair of the transition team on the economy, was a protégé of former finance minister Kwesi Botchway and was part of the team of technocrats who impressively managed Ghana ’s structural adjustment programme, starting from the 1980s. In that position, he accumulated a great deal of experience which he later parlayed into a lucrative international consultancy business, making him one of the wealthiest people in Ghana . He is a low-profile but highly influential member of the NDC.

He is currently a consultant for organisations like the World Bank and many foreign governments across the African continent. He was reluctant to join the transition team, arguing that it was time for a new generation to take over from his generation, but he was persuaded by the Ahwoi Brothers to come and share his experience. Should he get the nod, the ministry is likely to see a major shake-up. If he does not get Finance, he is likely to compete for Dr. Thompson for advisor positions or head of the National Development Planning Commission. As a party member, he also has a greater chance to head Prof. economic management team, which will liaise between the Castle and ministries in charge of the economy.

Theo Sammy Doku