General News of Tuesday, 25 September 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-09-25
Kwame Agbodza
The Minority is warning the economy is being driven into a ditch as parliament begins sitting for an emergency session that will run till Friday.
According to Adaklu legislator, Kwame Agbodza said the Akufo-Addo regime has reduced the act of governance to borrowing.
He told Joy News’ Emefa Apawu that they had no idea what the agenda was when they were recalled only to be greeted with “a plethora of borrowing before us.”
“Some of these things require a lot of knowledge and we needed to study this in much more details so that we understand whether the country will have value for money.
“That is not going to happen because we are going to be forced to approve all these within four days before we rise,” Mr Agbodza said.
The House is expected to approve almost $700 million in fresh loans, credit arrangements and batter financing initiatives over the next five days before it rises.
The Minority’s warning comes at a time when the country’s debt stock has hit more than $142 billion.
Some of the loans to be considered are:
– Suppliers credit agreement between Ghana and Brazil for $95.4 million for establishment and strengthening of Agric Mechanisation Services Centers
– Financing agreement between Ghana and International Development Association of World Bank for $40 million to fund Tourism Development Project
– Financing agreement between Ghana and International Development Association of World Bank for $35 million for proposed Public Sector Reform
– Financing agreement between Ghana and International Development Association of World Bank for $50 million to finance Ghana Commercial Agric Project
– Tax waiver of $2.8 million for construction of Research Center at Nogouchi Memorial Institute
– The contract between government and Shimuzu Corporation of Japan for construction of Research Center at Nogouchi memorial institute of 1.6 billion Japanese Yuen which amounts to $14 million
– Commercial agreement between Ghana and Sinohydro for $500 million to fund infrastructural projects
Mr Agboza said he is very disappointed in the Akufo-Addo-led government which said before it came to power that it was not going to borrow.
“This is a government that we could mobilise our own resources in this country but today the refrain is that we cannot do anything without embarking on binge borrowing left, right and center,” he said.
According to the Adaklu MP, government has nothing to show for its excessive borrowing which is only increasing the public debt.
He said although the NDC borrowed while in office, there is a lot to show for it, unlike the NPP which made borrowing look despicable.
But the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta has been defending government’s management of the debt stock.
He said in the tourism, Agric and financial agreement for public sector reform will all made the country better once they are fully implemented.
“There is nothing mysterious about what is happening,” he added.