Battle for 80 billion GHC debt: NDC members are hypocrites – Oppong Nkrumah

Policy of Monday, June 10, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-06-10

The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, described the statement of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the administration headed by Akufo – Addo was in a band of people. borrowers as being fallacious and unfounded.

The minority appeal, claiming that the government's new Patriotic Party (NPP) borrowed 80 billion GHS in two years, announced that the minister had declared that his government was in place.

Oppong-Nkrumah said the NDC parliamentarians said nothing to Ghanaians, in that the former government, John Dramani Mahama, had approved many of these loans, which are coming due and are being disbursed. MPP government, but they instead turned around and blame the NPP for what he did during his tenure.

The NDC minority in parliament, led by Fifi Kwetey, Member of Parliament of Ketu South, Cbadiel Atto Forson, Member of Parliament for Ajumako / Anyan / Essiam and others, convened a press conference last Thursday and baderted that Ghana's current total debt was 200 billion GHS, or 58 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

According to the minority, while the outstanding debt during his reign amounted to 120 billion GHS, or 56% of GDP, the NPP government increased the debt of 80 billion GHS and yet did not get anything.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra last Friday to respond to the NDC's complaint, Mr Oppong-Nkrumah said that they (the NDC) had fed the Ghanaians with lies.

"It's also amazing to hear people who understand national accounting suggest that a change in outstanding nominal debt means that President Akufo-Addo has contracted new loans from other countries." an amount of 80 billion GHS.

As always, the people who make the request know that the first addition to our stock of debt is the current disbursement of the loans contracted under their mandate.

"Ongoing loan disbursements to Eastern University and the Tema Mpakadan Railway, to name a few, all contribute to the 80 billion GHS change in our nominal debt stock. How can we know that and say that the Akufo-Addo government has added 80 billion GHS to our debt stock, "said Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah.

The Minister of Information added: "The government has not borrowed 80 billion GHS in two and a half years. Ghana's domestic market will never even be able to release this kind of money in two and a half years. Our market is not as liquid as that. "

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said that the scandalous accusations of the minority were inscribed in the regular attempt of the opposition party to "scare Ghanaians with lies".

Mr. Nkrumah explained that the administration had been capped at US $ 500 million in new project loans in 2017 and 2018, under the IMF program, and that it had respected it. .

In 2019, the administration is additionally capped at 750 million US dollars of new project loans and intends to comply with them again.

While advising Ghanaians to reject the NDC's usual "alarmist propaganda" on the economy, Nkrumah says the evidence of improving the debt situation lies in the fact that even including the bailout of the financial sector, the debt-to-GDP ratio that measures debt sustainability remains at 56%, thus nullifying NDC's claims for debt growth. He again warned the minority not to make false statements about the Ghanaian economy.