You have borrowed more than Mahama – Mallam Issah from Akufo-Addo | Policy

The administration headed by Akufo-Addo must stop borrowing and look for money at home to finance development projects, said Mallam Issah, former Minister of Youth and Sports.

Mallam Issah recalled that prior to the 2016 general elections, the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) had told Ghanaians that the Mahama administration had contracted excessive borrowing despite the country's rich resources. , and that she would not borrow if it was voted He is convinced that the Akufo-Addo administration has not honored his commitment since taking office in 2017.

"Someone should tell me why they used the loans for which they borrowed. I do not see projects corresponding to the loans contracted, so we have to ask them questions, "he said.

"Dr. Bamuwia and President Akufo-Addo told us, when they were in opposition, that Mahama borrowed too much and that we had a lot of money and resources in Ghana. Ghanaians voted for the NPP only to borrow more than Mahama did.

"So what are they saying to Ghanaians? They must obey their own words and stop borrowing, "he said. Accra FM Tuesday, July 9, 2019.

Recently, Dr. Gideon Boako, spokesman for Dr. Bawumia, denied allegations that his leader during the election campaign said that a future Akufo-Addo government would never borrow.

In a statement following similar statements by Tamale North MP Alhbadan Suhuyini, Boako said, "I wish Mr. Suhuyini, his cohorts of the NDC and all those who like to report statements. during the 2016 campaign that the NPP government would never borrow when he was elected to power.

"I am by this statement defying Mr. Suhuyini or anyone with evidence to the contrary to argue.

"Dr. Bawumia and His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's Government continue to champion the principle of responsible public spending through an optimal mix of tax revenues, borrowed funds, grants, and other sources of development from the country.

"Like the more than 13 billion Cedis borrowed to hold the deposits of more than 1.2 million troubled banking customers and microfinance institutions, the government will continue to exercise its borrowing discretion to the extent that it remains important, necessary and permissible.

"However, the government is aware of the need to ensure debt sustainability, the judicious use of borrowed funds and the productivity that must flow from them. It is in the light of these elements that the government has made considerable efforts to avoid the mistakes of the past and has pbaded the Fiscal Responsibility Act to limit government borrowing not exceeding a certain limit of gross domestic product (GDP ) from the country. Politics is supposed to be a decent game and all actors must communicate with the facts. I urge the media to constantly subject everyone to strong evidence of each and every badertion made. "

In addition, the Minister of Information, Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said that the loans contracted by the government were used to offset the existing loans which the administration of the new patriotic party had inherited.

Contrary to the previous administration's allegations that the current government had borrowed excessively without any feasible development project, the loans were used in the interest of the country.

According to him, the government contracted commercial loans to finance old loans and, as a result, the public debt would decrease when the required payments were made.

At a press conference in Accra, the minister said that the growth of the national debt does not mean that the government borrowed too much.

"A country's nominal debt may increase due to the disbursement of lending facilities acquired by previous governments, ie each dollar payment made for an already acquired loan would add to the national debate. "he explained.

Nkrumah said more than 50 percent of the national debt was external debt. Therefore, an increase in the exchange rate (the depreciation of the Ghana cedi) would also increase the nominal national debt.

He noted that the government had to borrow 120 million GHS to bail out financial institutions during the financial reforms that also increased the national debt. He added that the debt on the gross domestic product (GDP) went from 51.2% in 2014 to 55.6% in 2015 and 56.8% in 2016.

In 2017, under the current government, the ratio had been reduced to 55.7%. It has only increased by 57.8% due to financial sector reforms. It has since fallen to 56.8% in the first quarter of 2019.