Ghana�s Future Mortgaged .GH� 333m Needed To Pay Eurobond Interest

THE MINORITY Caucus in Parliament is crying for future leaders of the country because according to them, an amount of about GH¢333 million has to be arranged to pay for interests on Eurobonds from 2023 to 2032.

The Minority said the future of young leaders has been mortgaged by the current government with borrowings every year.

Deputy Minority Leader, Dominic Nitiwul yesterday said these while contributing to the debate to approve the 2016 sovereign bond up to one billion United States dollars.

Mr. Nitiwul said approving this bond would mean increasing the debt stock of the country without any project to pay back the loan, especially, as they approach an election year.

Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu on his part said no matter the advice they give to government, it will still borrow adding that the Majority only changes the terms in the report to confuse everybody.

Mr. Agyeman-Manu stated that borrowing in dollars to refinance loans in Cedi would continue to weaken the Cedi against other major trading currencies.

But the Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin explained that government is borrowing to improve the lives of Ghanaians and not to burden future generations.

Mr. Bagbin further indicated that they will use part of the bond to refinance US$750 million Eurobond taken under the New Patriotic Party government.

He also advised the Minority to stop creating the impression that things are difficult when they are rather the opposite.

According to the report of the Finance Committee, the bond is one of the initiatives aimed at achieving fiscal consolidation and “designed to achieve the refinancing objectives and provide cheaper and longer-term resources for financing the 2016 budget.”

The report indicated that US$750,000,000 would be used to support the 2016 budget and US$250,000,000 used to refinance domestic and external debts.

The report said the bond would have a neutral impact on the nation's debt stock adding that “the bond issue would have positive impact on the domestic market.”

The report said, a Deputy Finance Minister explained, that arrangements were far advanced for government to use Sinking Fund to redeem the Bond on maturity.

Parliament, after the deliberations approved the 2016 sovereign bond up to one billion United States dollars despite moves by the Minority Caucus to object to it.