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Former Minister of Finance Seth Terkper has disputed claims that President Akufo-Addo\u2019s administration has outperformed John Dramani Mahama\u2019s government in terms of economic achievements.<\/strong><\/p>\n He argues that assertions made by the ruling New Patriotic Party are misleading and fail to acknowledge the financial buffers and funds left by Mahama\u2019s government, including the remainder of the 2015 IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF).<\/p>\n In a post shared on X, formerly Twitter on July 29, 2024 the former finance minister emphasized that the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), which have been collecting taxes since the 2015 IMF ECF, were collateralized and are now in default.<\/p>\n He said this in response to comments made by the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Abena Osei-Asare, who suggested that the NPP had not derailed from the current IMF program like the NDC did before leaving office in 2016.<\/p>\n Terkper, however, pointed out that during Mahama\u2019s tenure from 2014 to 2016, efforts were made to reduce national debt, including the utilization of the Sinking Fund to manage obligations, such as the New Patriotic Party\u2019s (NPP) 2017 bond.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom 2014-16, John Mahama\u2019s government was reducing debt, including NPP\u2019s 2017 Bond, with the Sinking Fund. By comparison, the legacy ahead at end-2024 is default, \u201chaircut,\u201d and passing debt obligations [through suspension] to be paid by future governments and generations,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n The former finance minister noted that the Sinking and Contingency Funds, along with the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), were \u201chome-grown\u201d measures that were not imposed by the IMF.<\/p>\n He pointed out that these reserves were not prominent in the ECF 2015 discussions with the IMF, adding that commercial lenders did not easily offer concessions during Board approvals and reviews.<\/p>\n Seth Terkper urged the ruling NPP government to refrain from making what he considers to be false claims about their economic achievements.<\/p>\n See his posts below:<\/p>\n A] This idea that NADAA’s Govt did better than JM’s is turning ridiculous. The funds\/buffers left by JM include the rest of IMF ECF 2015 money. The alleged non-performance has NPP’s 2.3% of GDP “OFFSET” it forged & added to the 2016 deficit [posted here].https:\/\/t.co\/TPWC2PmPg3<\/p>\n \u2014 Seth E Terkper (@SethTerkper) July 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n B] From 2014-16, JM’s Govt was reducing debt, including NPP’s 2017 Bond, with the Sinking Fund. By comparison, the legacy ahead at end-2024 is default, “haircut” and passing debt obligation [thro’ suspension] to be paid by future governments and generations.<\/p>\n \u2014 Seth E Terkper (@SethTerkper) July 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n ghanaweb.com<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n
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