The minority in Parliament says the current debt levels of the country expose the incompetence and deceit of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The NPP rode to power on the back of a promise to undertake earmarked projects and run the country without borrowing after widely castigating its predecessor National Democratic Congress administration for excessive borrowing.
The NPP with the current Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia as its mouthpiece, did not only accuse the then John Mahama led administration of borrowing too much but also allege that the monies were not been maximized for development.
In a statement signed by their leader Haruna Iddrisu, the minority said the Nana Akufo-Addo led NPP administration is already showing that its promises stay away from borrowing was hollow.
According to the minority, the NPP government has already borrowed $16billon dollars within three years raising the debt to GDP levels from 56 to 58%.
“At current exchange rate levels, borrowing alone has given President Akufo-Addo a staggering $16 billion over the period. It is instructive to note that this figure does not include the GH₵ 5.7 billion borrowed under the ESLA Bonds last year,” the minority stated.
This new debt levels, the minority believes is a betrayal of the trust Ghanaians reposed in the NPP in 2016.
“The Minority Caucus is deeply concerned about the reckless borrowing of the NPP Government. This extent of borrowing marks a betrayal of the trust reposed in the President after he and his then Vice-Presidential candidate promised in opposition not to borrow because according to them, we had all the resources needed to finance our development.”
“Not only has the President’s insatiable appetite for borrowing exposed that promise as hollow, it also shows that he and his team do not possess the competence they claimed to have to generate domestic revenue to finance the national budget,” the statement underscored.
The minority also expressed surprise at the rate at which the Akufo-Addo led administration is borrowing because of the three fold increase in revenue from oil, a jump in tax revenue and grants from which the administration has benefitted.
“Surprisingly, as noted earlier, this is a government that has benefited more in terms of oil revenues received since 2017. From Table 1 below, the total oil revenue that has been received between 2017 and 2018 and is expected to be received in 2019 currently stands at GH₵12,328,703.024.81”.
“An analysis of the three budget statements presented since 2017, shows that tax revenue alone has brought in about GH₵113.4 billion ($ 21.4 billion at current exchange rate) in the last two and half years”.
“In addition to this, GH₵3,779,523,324.42 ($713.03 million) has been received in the form of grants since 2017—by a government that projects an end to foreign assistance, obviously as a slogan. Put together, President Akufo-Addo has had over GH₵ 200 billion and yet is unable to point to anything of significance since coming to power,” the minority opined.
Story: Sena Nombo/Radiogoldlive.com
