Board Chairman of the National Theatre , Nana Fredua Ofori-Atta Agyeman Duah, has refuted claims that President Nana Akuffo Addo’s government has nothing to show for all the monies it has borrowed.
Speaking in an interview on November 8, Agyeman Duah noted that unlike the era of Former President John Dramani Mahama, all the monies the current Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta borrowed, have been used for projects that are visible to every citizen.
He further stated that, it is true Ken Ofori Atta has borrowed a lot, but all the monies he borrowed were put into strategic sectors of the economy that will help propel the development of Ghana.
“The difference between the NDC government’s borrowing and the NPP government’s borrowing is in the purpose. The monies the NDC borrowed, where did it go? How many things do we remember they used the money for?”
Agyemang Duah
Nana Duah indicated that for the Akuffo Addo government, the monies borrowed have been invested in agriculture, health, education, industry, transport amongst others. “The list goes on and on, you can see it. Let them list theirs and let’s see.” He emphasized.
“So that is the point; the point is the money has been borrowed, these are matters of fact, you can’t twist it. The problem is, will we benefit from what the funds has been used for?”
Agyemang Duah
He added that the Akuffo Addo government has invested so much in rail way infrastruture, which is critical in expanding Ghana’s economy.
Akufo-Addo’s government has borrowed $10bn so far
There have been a lot of concerns raised with regards to the mannner in which the Akuffo Addo’s led government keeps borrowing huge sums of money but has nothing to show for it.
Member of Parliament, John Jinapor, is attributing what he feels is Ghana’s unprecedented economic mess to reckless borrowings by the current Akufo-Addo government.
He lays blame at the doors of the President, insisting that despite the global economic situation, there is nothing to show for the huge borrowings, thereby compounding the country’s economic situation.
Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, John Jinapor, said that the Akufo-Addo government has borrowed about $10bn since taking power in 2016.
According to him, this is about three times the money the previous government headed by John Mahama borrowed during their time. Mr. Jinapor explained that it is not wrong for a country to borrow, however, how the money is spent becomes essential.
“If you look at the annual debt report from the Ministry of Finance, between 2013 till date, we borrowed $14.77bn. Between 2013 to 2016 we borrowed $3.7bn, then when President Akufo-Addo took over, he borrowed over $10 billion in that short space.”
Mr Jinapor
Mr Jinapor noted that the previous government borrowed to invest in infrastructure projects like the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant, Kotoka International Airport among others which till date are making returns for the country.
However, the Akufo-Addo government, he said is spending less on capital expenditure which could help government make money to pay off the debt.
“If you look at Akufo-Addo’s borrowing, less than 50% went into capital expenditure. In fact in 2019, about $2.4bn of what they borrowed was used to finance free SHS. You’ve paid the parents’ fees, but the following year you have to start paying the interest and money is not available.”
Mr Jinapor
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