Mahama's Bro To Settle Debt Owed Merchant Bank By Dec 15

Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper Kwaku Baako has revealed that the debt owed by Ibrahim Mahama, President John Mahama's younger brother to the beleaguered Merchant Bank, will be settled by December 15, 2013. Kweku Baako said he was aware of efforts being made by Mr. Ibrahim Mahama to settle the GH�57million debt his company, Engineers and Planners, contracted from the bank in 2007. "I have seen enough records that by December 15th, Engineers and Planners would have settled its indebtedness with Merchant Bank," Mr. Baako said Saturday on Joy FM's news analysis programme Newsfile, which was also live on the Joy News TV. The loan taken by Mr. Mahama became the subject of political attention, follwing the proposed sale of Merchant Bank to FirstRand of South Africa, largely because of his company's indebtedness. The debt according to reports is currently pegged at 175 million Ghana cedis. A pro-opposition group Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) had called for the assets of Mr. Ibrahim Mahama to be frozen pending investigations into the matter. AFAG claimed E&P's debt was 19.1% of the struggling Bank's debt portfolio. They also claim the loan was reportedly left unserviced by E&P since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) assumed power in 2009. Engineers and Planners had however indicated that some technicalities caused the repayment of the loan to drag, insisting there is a payment plan the company is following. The issue has been resurrected following the announced sale of the bank to Fortiz Equity Fund. But Kweku Baako feels it is "very petty" to politicize the sale of the Bank by trying to link Ibrahim Mahama to it. He revealed that "in the next few days it will be clear that that E&P indebtedness has been worked out".