THE CHIEF JUSTICE'S MIIF PRAISE DOES NOT SURVIVE THE AVAILABLE FACTS:By Michael Arthur (McArthur) Communication Officer, NPP Germany Branch

 THE CHIEF JUSTICE'S MIIF PRAISE DOES NOT SURVIVE THE AVAILABLE FACTS:By Michael Arthur (McArthur)

Communication Officer, NPP Germany Branch

A video of the Chief Justice, His Lordship Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, circulating on social media platforms in which he is seen showering praises on the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), appears to denigrate the performance of state institutions under the tenure of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's government by wading into an unnecessary and controversial comparison of his administration and the current happenings regarding the performance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with commending a state institution for good performance in executing its mandate. What is particularly troubling, however, is when such commendation is wrapped in a political narrative that does not withstand basic factual scrutiny.

The Chief Justice said, and I quote: "I must congratulate you. I mean, you have done marvelously well. Sometimes, when we hear about the things that you have done and the things that some organisations are doing now, we wonder. Some of us keep wondering what we really have been doing in the past eight years."

MIIF was established by former President Akufo-Addo through an Act of Parliament (Act 978) in 2018 and became fully operational around 2019/2020. The President assented to the Act on December 3, 2018.

So how can an institution that itself has not existed for eight years be presented as evidence that the previous eight years amounted to being wasteful and doing virtually nothing? The mathematics alone exposes the logical bankruptcy of this narrative. You cannot benchmark eight years of performance against an institution that has only been operational for about half that period.

The Fund was already a highly profitable and self-sustaining institution from its earliest years. Its impressive financial performance did not magically emerge with the change of government.

By 2023, MIIF had already recorded a net profit of GH¢409 million, almost doubling the GH¢205 million it made in 2022. The Fund's revenue also saw a significant boost, climbing from GH¢323 million in 2022 to GH¢456 million in 2023. Assets Under Management grew from approximately US$125 million in October 2021 to reach the one-billion-dollar mark by January 2024.

This was not a fund that was sleeping. This was a fund that was already on a remarkable growth trajectory under the very administration the Chief Justice now seems to dismiss.

According to MIIF's audited accounts, the Fund recorded an overwhelming GH¢1.904 billion in net profit in 2024, making it the highest-earning State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) for that year. Its profit even surpassed those of almost every commercial bank in Ghana, with GCB and Ecobank among the exceptions.

The 2024 results were nothing short of historic. The Fund posted GH¢1.964 billion in net income, almost 300% higher than the previous year's GH¢455 million. Total assets rose to GH¢11.2 billion, while the Fund maintained a cost-to-income ratio of just 3%, far below global sovereign wealth fund standards. Cash reserves reached a record GH¢5.58 billion, a 69% increase from 2023.

The Auditor-General described MIIF as a "high-performing sovereign minerals fund" with strengthened revenue streams, investment growth, and balance sheet resilience.

The 2024 profit of GH¢1.904 billion exceeded the combined profits of all preceding years since MIIF's operationalisation in 2018.

That is hardly evidence of an institution that had been neglected or poorly managed for eight years. On the contrary, it is evidence of meticulous building, strategic investment, and disciplined execution all under the previous administration.

After the current government assumed office in 2025, MIIF's net profit reportedly fell significantly to approximately GH¢1.1 billion. The result was fundamentally shaped by amendments to the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978), as effected by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1137). This amendment drastically reduced the Fund's allocation of minerals royalties and dividends income from 77.6% and 100% respectively in 2024 to just 2% in 2025—a reduction of more than 98 percentage points in a single year.

So, if the numbers are the basis for judgment, then the strongest financial performance cited above occurred before the current government came into office—not after. The Fund that the Chief Justice is celebrating today delivered its most spectacular results under the very leadership he appears to be questioning.

Was he simply praising a successful state institution, or was he also endorsing a political narrative favourable to the government of the day?

The question becomes even more legitimate given the political sensitivity surrounding appointments associated with his tenure, including the appointment of his wife as Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service.

The Chief Justice occupies one of the most important constitutional offices in the Republic. The holder of that office must not only be impartial but must also be seen by the public to be impartial. The Judiciary's independence is not merely a legal principle; it is the bedrock upon which public confidence in our democratic institutions rests.

When the country's topmost judicial officer appears to be making statements that can easily be interpreted as partisan political commentary, it inevitably undermines public confidence in the neutrality of the judiciary. The Chief Justice's comments made during a visit to MIIF on September 2, 2026 have already generated significant debate precisely because of the constitutional position he occupies and the Judiciary's obligation to maintain independence from the executive and political parties.

His remarks about SSNIT preparing to sell its prized assets like the Labadi Beach Hotel further reinforced the impression of an implicit comparison between the present administration and the previous eight-year period under the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

We cannot have a situation where political propaganda is presented as facts simply because it comes from a person occupying a high constitutional office.

The numbers are available. The records are available. And the sequence is clear.

MIIF's impressive performance did not begin with the current government. If anything, its reported record profit came in 2024, before the change of government.

The Fund was established by the Akufo-Addo administration. It was nurtured into one of the country's most profitable state entities under that same administration. Its most spectacular financial year—2024—occurred under that administration. And the profit drop in 2025 occurred after the change of government, partly due to legislative amendments that reduced the Fund's royalty share from 77.6% to just 2%.

· Why rewrite the history of an institution that the previous administration established and nurtured into one of the country's most profitable state entities?

· How did we get to a point where the Chief Justice himself appears to be participating in a political narrative?

· Where is the judicial impartiality that the Constitution demands and that Ghanaians deserve?

Ghanaians deserve institutions that speak the truth, not institutions that help manufacture political mythology.

The Chief Justice must remember that his words carry immense weight. When he speaks, the nation listens and interprets. His comments must never give the impression that the highest court in the land has taken sides in the political contest of ideas.

We call on the Chief Justice to focus on the administration of justice and leave political commentary to politicians.

Facts over propaganda. Records over rhetoric. Truth over politics

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*Michael Arthur (McArthur)*

*Communication Officer, NPP Germany Branch*