The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is well-known for his signature white apparels, brown leather bags, and also for being someone who loves to quote scriptures from the Bible.

Every time he has addressed the country on economic matters, he would always throw in a reference to a scripture in the Bible, to support an argument or to conclude his speeches.

The suspicion, as has become common-knowledge now, is that with those scriptures, he is sending a signal that his words are the truth, and nothing else.

The most recent of such instances where the minister referred to a Bible scripture in a public address was when he appeared in parliament on February 16, 2023, to present a statement on the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

As expected of him, he began his presentation with a quotation from the Bible.

“Mr speaker I come in peace and as expected, if I look at Psalm 105, it says that let’s give thanks and note that we should rejoice with the lord and make his great deeds known to people,” he said, attracting varied reactions from both sides of the house,” he said.

Not too long after that, the minister and some members of his team attended the IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting, where they discussed Ghana’s external debt restructuring, and the modalities and subsequent approval of a $3 million bailout for to help Ghana.

Rather surprising, the minister was not heard using any of these speech-reading techniques at these international engagements with the IMF and the World Bank leaders.

Throughout the series of meetings with the leaders of the Bretton Wood Institutions, the finance minister has not been heard making references to the scriptures as a negotiating skill to appeal to the emotions of the leaders.

There is a begging question about whether or not the use of Biblical scriptures are just a technique the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, employs within the shores of Ghana only, or there is a bigger explanation to why the same isn't applied in his engagements outside the shores of the country.

What is the power that exists in the use of Biblical scriptures within Ghana, but the same not used outside the country? What happens to all those well-known, relatable scriptures when Ken Ofori-Atta is engaging with people outside the shores of Ghana?

NW/AE