Minority Asks President to Justify U.S..$37.4 Billion Loans, Revenue

By Julius Yao Petetsi

THE Minority in Parliament has challenged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to show Ghanaians what his government has used the US$37.4 billion it has received in the form of loans and revenue for.

The caucus said the utilisation of US$21.4 billion revenue, and US$16 billion loans, does not correspond with what the government has been able to do over the period.

The Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Mr Casiel Ato Baah Forson, at a press conference in Accra, yesterday, said that "it is even more worrying that despite this unprecedented level of borrowing, President Akufo-Addo does not have any significant capital investment to show, unlike his predecessor, former President John Mahama, who invested borrowed funds in major capital investments, in all sectors of the economy".

He said "the Minority is deeply concerned about the reckless borrowing of the NPP government. This extent of borrowing marks a betrayal of the trust reposed in the President and his then Vice Presidential candidate, who promised not to borrow because according to them, we had all the resources needed to finance our development".

Mr Forson said almost all major projects that were currently ongoing were those for which funding was secured under former President Mahama or had begun under him.

"President Akufo-Addo's inability to show any tangible outcomes for the excessive borrowing raises serious concerns about the prudence of his borrowing decisions," Mr Forson, who is the Member of Parliament for Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam, said.

He said analysis of the three budget statements presented by the government, through the Finance Minister, revealed that tax revenue had raked in GH¢113 billion over the life of the government, in addition to GH¢3.7 billion in the form of grants.

Mr Forson indicated that government's issuance calendar for the second quarter of this year, showed that another GH¢12 billion would be borrowed with a net amount of GH¢566 million being added to the debt stock by the end of June.

"Our estimation, based on this trend, is that the public debt will rise to about GH¢250 billion in a year by this time. This is an addition of about GH¢130 billion," Mr Forson projected.

He expressed worry that money was not being used to support financed capital expenditure, but consumables, triggering rigidity pressures.

The current spate of borrowing, according to Mr Forson, threatened to erode the fiscal space provided by the rebasing of the economy, that was started in 2016, and concluded in September, 2018.

Despite the borrowing, he said the government had not been able to fulfill its campaign promise to build a factory in every district, a dam in every village in the five regions of the north and release of a million dollars per constituency.

Mr Forson said "even with the flagship free Senior High School programme, we are seeing appalling conditions and gigantic efforts to beat a retreat from the yellow and green track regime".

He stressed that "this abject failure cannot be accepted in the wake of the over GH¢200 billion President Akufo-Addo has had. We demand that the President and his government render a detailed account of how all funds received have been disbursed".

"Mr President, please, show us the utilisation of the US$37 billion for your 27 months in office," Mr Forson demanded.

The latest report of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana pegged Ghana's debt at GH¢198 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2019, from GH¢120 billion in 2016, representing a jump of GH¢78 billion.

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