I have just read a statement from the Ministry of Communications purporting to respond to the issues I read at the University for Development Studies, Wa Campus concerning the propagandist claims of the current government on infrastructural investments under their administration.
1. Debt Figures
What is clear to me (and confirms my long held suspicion) is that members of this government, handed the mandate to manage our destinies as a nation, do not read. Worse of all, as I said on 14th February, 2015, at a forum at the University for Development Studies, what is most unfortunate about this whole episode is the fact that the government doesn’t even seem to know how much it has borrowed. I have on several occasions tried to educate the government on what the true value of their borrowing is but try as I do, it is clear the government is committed to either not reading and understanding the extent of their reckless borrowing or is only following their usual path of deceit and propaganda.
For the benefit of the people of Ghana, I reproduce my comments on this issue contained in the NPP’s Response to the 2016 Budget, delivered on 2nd December 2015 and pray that this time, members of government will read and be informed.
“In the last seven years alone under this NDC government Ghana’s total debt has ballooned from GH¢9.5billion to a projected GH¢99billion by the end of 2015! Of this, GHC54 billion ($14 billion) is external debt and GH¢45 billion is domestic debt. What is clear is that 90% (i.e. GH¢89.5 billion) of Ghana’s total debt since independence has been accumulated under this NDC government between 2009-2015.
It is also important to appreciate the quantum of borrowing that has actually taken place in the last seven years to set the record straight. In US dollar terms, this NDC government has borrowed the equivalent (at the time of borrowing) of about $37 billion in seven years!! (Table 2).
Table 2. (attached) shows the Dollar Value of Government Borrowing (2009-2015) - Billions*
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