ADI supports BNP and NDCs on public debt | Policy

The Alliance for Development and Industrialization criticized the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Party for using the public debt as a liability for the country.

According to a statement issued in Accra, ADI said the public debt could only be a liability if domestic and foreign loans are not used productively in the medium and long term.

ADI said Ghana's current public debt, which amounted to 198 billion GHC or 38 billion US dollars, should not in any way spoil the country's economic development focused on productivity.

"If we talk about national productivity, we should boycott the issue of debt … if we are productive, we should not be afraid of debt, because borrowing for development would be profitable in the long run," he said. .

"Every business has to, but this could only be a liability if the loans contracted are not used wisely, adding that the debts should translate into positive productivity," he said.

In the United States of America, with a population of 300 million inhabitants, for example, its total public debt is around 63 trillion USD, which means that every US citizen owes about 4,600 USD over in Ghana, which is less than 200 USD.

"Ghana for example, borrowing is not a liability unless it is not related to productivity. . . "By adding that while the government was mopping up its banking sector accounts to microfinance institutions, it could seize the opportunity to outsource many projects and programs to the private sector."

ADI called on the government to channel most of the loans to the agriculture sector, which is the backbone of the country's industrialization campaign.

He added that it was better for the government to find ways to support the private sector and a mechanism to support their public-private partnership (PPP) projects aimed at improving productivity, which would mean that public debt would be more of a puzzle in any government.

Ghana's public debt rose to GHC 198 billion or US $ 38.9 billion at the end of March 2019, accounting for 57.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to GHC 147 billion or 49.5 percent of GDP. GDP for the same period in 2018, according to figures released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

The external component of debt amounted to US $ 20.7 billion, or GHC 105.2 billion or 30.5 percent of GDP, compared to US $ 17.3 billion or GHC 76.1 billion or 25.5 percent of GDP. GDP for the same period last year.

Domestic debt also increased to GHC 92.8 billion, or 30.5 percent of GDP, compared to GHC 71.8 billion or 24 percent of GDP in the same period in 2018.