Use bank guarantees to finance country’s nat’l budget – Dr. Frank Forbes-Menson-UK International Financial Expert

A global financial consultant, Professor Dr. Frank Forbes-Menson has proposed the use of bank guarantees as a viable alternative for financing the country’s national budget. According to him, the use of bank guarantee would help the country address her financial challenges rather than resorting to the Bretton Woods Institutions (IMF,World Bank).

Prof. Dr. Forbes-Menson made the proposal during his courtesy call to the Institute of Fiscal Studies/to discuss the country’s financial challenges in Accra on Friday 11 2025.

The meeting focused on issues related to Ghana’s over dependency on IMF programmes, the revamping of Ghana International Bank (GIB) and the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Prof. Dr. Forbes-Menson.

Prof. Dr. Forbes-Menson explained that post election challenges we are facing can be solve by relying on external global financial instruments such as bank guarantees and promissory notes (OPM). The avalization of these instruments can be utilized to pay bills of exchange on behalf of the country. This would go a long way to release the current pressures imposed by the overdependence on the scale/outdated Bretton Woods institutional framework.

Prof. Dr. Forbes-Menson proposed the establishment and the launch of the African Global Fund (AGF) to be headquartered in Accra with an agency rep office in Kigali, Rwanda. The AGF will focus on the utilization of such international instruments in the form of a fund/funds in resolving both private and public financial intermediation challenges. In response, Dr. Duffour however lamented that restrictions within the bank of Ghana systems needs to be revisited to establish awareness creation and education of bankers and the entire financial services industry to facilitate the wider participation in the use of these instruments.

The aim of the African Global Fund, he emphasized is to provide and facilitate operations of selected institutions, government projects, and manufacturing small and medium scale enterprises (SME) nationwide. Prof. Dr Forbes-Menson also emphasised the need to develop a comprehensive revitalisation and resetting strategy to help revamp the Ghana International Bank that is based in the United Kingdom (UK), the only credible national incorporated bank serving Ghana’s international financial services with. Western Europe.

He reiterated his readiness to assist anyone tasked with the reorganisation of the GIB, which he considered a historically long-serving strategic asset that needed to be preserved, rather than being subjected to seizure due to judgement debt to the Traffigura Group. Prof. Dr Forbes-Menson expressed keen interest in contributing to the academic field by joining the newly established faculty of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, underscoring the importance of integrating academic perspectives with practical financial strategies to foster a more robust economic environment.

Dr m. Kwabena Duffour, former Bank of Ghana Governor, and former Minister of Finance, emphasised his willingness to revamp all deteriorating sectors of the economy with the aim to secure sustainable economic development in Ghana.

Notable among the key figures present were Dr. Duffour, Mr Kwabena Dufour – former Managing Director, UniBank, Ms Ivy Rose Akakpo, Administrator, University of Cape Coast, and Mr Eben A. Yelson an International Public Relations Professional.

BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY