Popular cousin of President Akufo-Addo, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, has received a dressing-down from Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, who says the former is an ‘ignoramus.’
Mr. Adongo’s lunge at the Founder of the Danquah Institute was in reaction to a reply that Gabby had posted to a revelation that the MP had made about companies of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Minister of State nominee for Finance, Charles Adu Boahen, getting contracts as transaction advisors of government.
“Gabby, it is better for you to keep your mouth shut and be thought of as a fool than to speak and to remove all doubts,” parts of a write-up by Mr. Adongo read.
The write-up was in reaction to Gabby’s claim that when Adongo revealed that Ken Ofori-Atta’s Data Bank and Charles Adu Boahen’s Blackstar Brokerage Limited had been named by the government in its list of transaction advisors for an upcoming borrowing program of about Ghc60billion and that they stood to share in up Ghc210million in fees, Adongo had lied.
Gabby had written, “In 2020, Adongo lied that ALA took $2m in fees on gold monetisation work. Now, he claims Databank $ Blackstar stands to make over GHS210m in fees. A big misleading lie!”
“To generate GHS210m in fees, a Bond Market Specialist would have to sell bonds worth over GHS42bn to investors!” Gabby claimed.
But in response, Isaac Adongo pointed out that Gabby’s post was full of ignorance and that ignorance.
“Ken Ofori-Atta and Charles Adu Boahen have contracted their own companies to be transaction advisors to themselves and decided how much they should pay their own companies. Gabby is worried as to whether they would earn GHS210m or less. So shameless. This transaction is tainted with potential insider trading and conflict of interest. They killed competition and set a new low in fiduciary standards and an empty lawyer is celebrating this new normal?” Adongo slammed Gabby.
“I quoted a rate of 0.35% to do my calculations. What rate are you using to disagree with my figure? So, if a bond market specialist must sell bonds worth GHS42 billion to earn GHS210 million in fees and your gross financing needs are GHS60 billion, how is this misleading? As a matter of fact, the figure of GHS210 million could be an understatement. Your short-term rollovers are less than GHS10 billion so how can bonds of GHS50 billion not realise a fee of GHS210 million when you need just GHS42 billion bonds to earn,” Adongo clarified.
“Gross financing needs in 2020 alone, was about GHS75 billion so GHS42 billion under these gluttons who are feeding fat from borrowing is chicken feed. Please, learn some bit of finance and stop displaying this ignorance,’ Adongo wrote.
In response to Gabby’s referencing of his law firm Africa Legal Associates (ALA) being dubiously appointed as transaction advisor for the scandalous Agyapa Mineral Royalties transaction, Isaac Adongo expressed surprise over what he said was Gabby’s lack of understanding of the basic workings of IPOs even though his company was made a TA.
“How such an ignoramus like Gabby, who knows nothing about IPOs, became the transaction advisor in Ghana shouldn’t be a mystery. His uncle is the President and instead of zipping up, he talks,” he wrote.
Adongo added, “No amount of adjectives can describe Gabby’s level of ignorance.”
“Gabby’s firm, Africa Legal Associates, was the transaction advisors to the dubious Agyapa Royalties Deal, which was actually to undertake an IPO. When he (Gabby) was asked a simple question on the pricing of the IPO on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana (GEG), he shamelessly and ignorantly said the market will determine the price. Really? The market to determine the price of an IPO?
“For your information, IPOs, as primary market transactions, are determined by the valuation of the issuer and not the Market. That’s why you have to get the valuation and prices right because when it starts trading the next day on the secondary market, the market will move the price to the right price. The market only comes in to correct the IPO on the secondary market during trading,” Adongo wrote.