Ghanaian investment banker and government official
Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta (born 7 November 1958),[1][2][3] is a Ghanaian investment banker[4] who serves as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo.[5] He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial services company, and served as executive chairman until 2012 when he resigned.[6] He was nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo on 10 January 2017 and assumed office on 27 January 2017 as finance minister.[7][8]
Early life and education
Ken Ofori-Atta was born on 7 November 1958 in Kibi, a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana.[9][10][11][12] He is the son of the economist and politician Jones Ofori Atta.[13] Ofori-Atta attended Achimota School for his O-Level and A-Level certificates received in 1976 and 1978 respectively. He got a temporary job as a mathematics teacher at Accra Academy in the period after his A-level at Achimota.[14] In August 1980, Ofori-Atta was enrolled at Columbia University for a B.A. in Economics. He graduated from Columbia in 1984 and worked at Morgan Stanley in New York. He studied for and received an MBA from the Yale University School of Management in 1988 and went to work for the investment bank, Salomon Brothers.[15]
Career
Finance
Ofori-Atta co-founded Databank Financial Services with Keli Gadzekpo and Togbe Afede XIV in 1990; he served as its executive chairman until 14 February 2012 when he went on retirement.[15] He has other business interests in Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Microfinance, Pharmaceuticals, and Real Estate.
In 1996, Ofori-Atta was the first African to testify at the US Congress Ways and Means Committee to support the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Ofori-Atta served as a director for numerous companies and as a member of some other boards as well. He was a Director for Enterprise Group Ltd and Trust Bank Ltd of The Gambia of which he is the chairman. He also was a Director at the International Bank and is also a board member of the Acumen Fund.[16][17][18]
Political career
Ofori-Atta was President Nana Akufo-Addo’s nominee to assess the health of the economy during the transition period after the 2016 elections.[15]
In May 2017, Akufo-Addo named Ken Ofori-Atta as part of nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet.[19] The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and were announced by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye.[19] As a cabinet minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is an integral part of the inner circle of the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, and is to aid in the key decision-making activities in the country.[19]
Ofori-Atta was elected Chair of the World Bank/IMF Development Committee at the 2018 Spring Meetings and also Chairs the Governing Board of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). In addition, he Chairs the African Caucus at the World Bank.
Ken Ofori-Atta, as Minister of Finance made a comment that, the World Bank has projected that if not tackled, climate change might lead to a yearly cost of around 1.7% of Ghana's GDP by 2030.[20]
Parliamentary Motion of Censure
On Tuesday, 25 October 2022, 80 lawmakers out of the 137 New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmakers dared the president to sack Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister citing his inability to properly handle the Ghanaian economy.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] President Akufo-Addo sacked Ofori-Atta's deputy over corruption claims and still kept Ofori-Atta at post saying that, there is no basis for sacking him.[28][29][30][31]
In November 2022, a motion of censure was started to remove Ken from office due to the decline of Ghana's economy, leading to the country's currency being ranked as one of the worst in the World. The motion failed as it was not able to gain two-thirds major to pass but only secured 136 votes out of 275 votes.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
IMF Bailout
In May 2021, Ofori-Atta in a press conference indicated that Ghana will not seek the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in managing the rising debt situation.[39][40] This was on the back of the Government of Ghana's ambitious agenda of 'Ghana Beyond Aid' unveiled in 2018 by President Akufo-Addo.[41][42][43] However, a press statement issued by the Finance Ministry indicated the Government of Ghana's engagement with the IMF for assistance in managing its debts to sustainable levels after President Akufo-Addo directed the Finance Minister in July 2022 to formally engage the International Monetary Fund for an 18th economic programme.[44][45]
In December 2022, IMF reached a staff-level agreement on Ghana's $3bn debt bailout with board approval in early 2023 as indicated in a press conference by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.[46][47][48][49][50]
On 17 May 2023, the IMF Board approved a $3bn Extended Credit Facility Arrangement for Ghana.[51][52][53][54][55][56]
On the 10th of January 2023, Ofori-Atta was appointed caretaker minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry following the resignation of Alan John Kyerematen.[57][58][59][60][61][62]
Awards and recognition
Ofori-Atta is a Henry Crown fellow of the Aspen Institute. He was adjudged as the 2nd most respected C.E.O in Ghana. Ken is a Donaldson Fellow at Yale University in 2010 and a recipient of the John Jay Award from Columbia University in 2011.[70][71][72][73] He is a co-founder of the Aspen Africa Leadership Initiative.
He was honored by PricewaterhouseCoppers Ghana twice as one of the Top 5 Most Respected CEOs in Ghana.
In May 2018, he was adjudged Best Africa Finance Minister of the year by London-based magazine The Banker.
He was named one of Africa's most politically connected bankers by The Africa Report in 2021.[74]
Personal life
Marriage and children
He is married to Professor Angela Lamensdorf Ofori-Atta, an associate professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ghana Medical School and former deputy minister for Manpower Development and Employment from 2003 to 2005 under the Kufour administration.[75] Ofori-Atta has four children with his wife.[76][77][78]
COVID-19, health and death rumors
There were rumors that Ofori-Atta has succumbed to COVID-19 after testing positive when he traveled to the United States on 15 February 2021 for medical review. The Ministry of Finance in a statement dispelled the rumors of his death but rather is receiving treatment outside Ghana due to medical complications after contracting COVID-19 in December 2020.[79][80]
