The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper says Transport Minister, Fifi Kwetey, was being deceptive when he said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wasted a $750 million loan facility in 2007.
Backing his challenge of Mr. Kwetey’s claims with documents, Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako Jnr said it was baffling how the Minister would make such a claim when there is evidence of infrastructural projects that the loan facility financed.
Some of the infrastructural projects that were financed with the loan facility were praised by the late President, John Evans Atta Mills, he revealed on Joy FM/Multi TV news analysis programme, Newsfile, Saturday.
At a ‘Setting the Records Straight’ forum last Thursday, Fifi Kwetey said NPP has no reliable knowledge about debt servicing, citing how the opposition party wasted the $750 million Eurobond proceed when the party was in power.
“For us in the NDC, foreign loans are meant for investment. Most likely, because the NPP was so wasteful with foreign loans, the party wrongly assumes the NDC has the same defect. No! We in the NDC have a great track record of using foreign debts to invest in solid investments,” Mr Kwetey had said.
However, rebutting Mr Kwetey’s remarks on Newsfile Saturday, the Mr Baako produced a World Bank document prepared jointly between Government of Ghana and the World Bank that dealt with the facility.
Reading copiously from the said document, he said, “It says ‘non-concessionary borrowing in 2007 was mostly used to raise energy capacity and that of 2008 is being accessed. Out of the $750 million borrowed in 2007 in the form of Eurobonds $595 million have been disbursed by January 2009.
‘The proceeds were allocated primarily to support public investments in the energy sector according to the following distribution:
286 million dollars for investments by the Volta River Authority (VRA)
134 million dollars for investment by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)
54 million dollars for investment in the Bui Dam
31 million dollars for the government’s equity investment in the West Africa Gas Pipeline, and
90 million dollars for public investment in roads infrastructure
‘The information provided by the Government of Ghana confirms therefore that proceeds from the Eurobond were used for productive investment, primarily in electricity generation and distribution, two areas that have been identified in the 2007 programme as warranting additional investment to sustained economic growth’, this from the Mills administration to the World Bank.”
He also cited a memorandum presented to the Cabinet of the late John Mills’ administration by then Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffuor to corroborate the contents of the document jointly prepared by the World Bank and government.
“It can’t be a waste,” he told show host, Samson Lardi Anyenini.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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Listen to ***barred word*** Baako again
Fiifi was just a journalist from School of Journalism and happens accidentally to become a minister in the discredited ndc party so not surprising at his lack of knowledge on such importance issues or was it propaganda? Baako always has the best and credible answers for such naive and unconscionable people like fiifi. Thanks Baako.
These vudu information was what the NPP left behind and early 2009 it was going to be impossible for the NDC government to do a thorough scrutiny on the informations. In any case, was part of the money used to pay for salaries? Again, we must know that you can't disgrace your husband/wife in public because you had a problem with him/her in the house. NDC then decided not to expose some of the rote of NPP because at the end of the day the international community wouldn't only look down on NPP government for mismanagement but Ghana as a whole. To the NDC, GHANA FIRST!
Mr Kwetey should come again because Ghanaians are more decerning now. You can't continue to throw dust into our eyes any more. God is waching, we shall be accountable to our stewardship one day. Let's think about mother Ghana and the younger generation and stop milking the state. With honourst and patrotic leadership Ghana will be a better place to leave. God bless Ghana.
A formrr deputy finance minister don't know what these money was used for when there are documents support ing it,bawumia was not lying when.he said ndc.do.not read.INCOMPETENCE PAA NIE.
M;assa; for your information Dr Bawumia is one of the the best econonmist in Ghana today with experience in the economic field with his mastertry of application of economic analytic tools to identify anomalies in the economic strategies of the NDC ;his understanding of economic issues are second to non as compared to and reptile in the NDC ; name one credible economist in the NDC ; is it Seth Terpkor or Ato Forson ; or Arthur -Amissah or M/S Quartey or Asiedu Nketia ; if any of these were as good as Dr Bawumia we will not find ourselves in such bankrupt nation with our finances in a mess ; the governnment are desperately using governments insturments to borrow to balance the budget because nobody is prepared to lend them cash anymore ;the IMF loan adjustment is in suspension ; the government cannot issue any more bonds on the international bond market because of the cirle of borrowing ; the NDC claims of infrasture is BIGUS because because all the macroeconomic indicators point to negative figures ; so therefore what are the use in these infrascture projects the under lining trend been the awarding of contracts to Jon Mahama family and frineds ; this ayigbe/ewe thiff and latrine boy can never be coompared to Dr Bawumia .
Eiii, Ghana! The one who made an allegation without any evidential support has people defending his claim, but the one who refuted the allegations with documentary prove, is insulted and been called names.
who is bawumia that tani
@ holy ghost,are you saying the npp forged the document with the world bank officials?
NDC government is the most corruptable government ever