NDC Blows $1.1bn On Scams – Says Nana Addo

Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that Ghana's acceptance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout is as a result of corruption and mismanagement running into GH'1.8 billion.

Nana Akufo-Addo said monies from only three scandals that rocked the country under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government amounted to more than the $940 million bailout it was receiving from the IMF.

According to the NPP presidential candidate, who was addressing a packed hall of students of the University of Cape Coast on Saturday, corruption on any scale was expensive, adding that it 'has been especially expensive to Ghana's development under this fourth NDC government.'

Stating facts to buttress his assertions, Nana Addo revealed that the cost of scams involving the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) (GH'200 million), GYEEDA (GH'952 million) and the payment of questionable judgement debts (GH'657 million) amounted to a whopping GH'1.8 billion.

'At the exchange rate that was prevailing at the time when the scams took place, we are talking about $1.1 billion. The entire IMF bailout is $912 million,' Nana Addo told the students, who were shocked.

President John Mahama, in a recent interview on Angel Fm, said clearly that the Ghana government money was not meant for capital projects, but could not tell if the GH'657 million spent to pay fraudulent judgement debts was contracted as loans.

Continuing, Nana Akufo-Addo said, 'These scams that I have mentioned are only a fraction of the numerous scams that you and I know about. Just these three give a loss to our nation which is more than the entire (IMF) bailout.'

Nana Akufo-Addo explained that 'unless we tackle the problem of corruption in government, we run the real risk of cynicism overcoming our politics and, thus, a catastrophic loss of confidence in our democracy. Ghana cannot afford this; our forebears did not struggle for Ghana to end up in such a sad state of affairs, and I believe that we can, in this generation, deliver the economic transformation that has eluded us so far if we do the right thing.'

The NPP, he said, understood that Ghanaians were weary of the impact of pervasive corruption on society and simply wanted their government to fix the problem.

'They want it fixed, not with words, but action. It is my belief that the fight against corruption must start with an incorruptible President. I have said so before and I will repeat it again today. I can assure you, in all humility, that I am not, have never been and will never be corrupt.

'I can also assure you that, as your President, I will not condone corruption in my government,' Nana Addo added.

He reinforced statements he had already made in the past by stating that 'people who see service in government as an avenue for making money will have no place in my government. Their proper place is in the private sector, where money-making is a positive thing. Public service is exactly that, public service.'

Deficit Of Ideas
He said the decision by the Mahama-led NDC government to go for a bailout from the IMF 'is as a result of the deficit of ideas in solving problems like 'dumsor', coupled with the mismanagement of the economy and a lack of fiscal discipline.'

Nana Addo stated that the whole world was at a loss as to how 'for the first time in history, an oil rich country, some five years into oil production, is seeking a bailout from the IMF.'

According to the NPP flagbearer, this NDC government had received more money in loans, tax revenues and export receipts than any other government in Ghana's history, but had surprisingly ended up with Ghana going cap-in-hand to the IMF for assistance.

'This sad spectacle is an indictment on the kind of leadership we have at the helm of affairs in our country,' he emphasised.

He recounted how the NPP, under the leadership of President Kufuor, showed in eight years that fiscal discipline was possible, and this resulted in the NPP government committing the nation's resources into areas that improved the lives of Ghanaians.

'We need to bring back confidence in the economy so that businesses and families can plan their budgets properly. What an Akufo-Addo government will do again is to bring back that confidence,' he said to a rousing applause from the audience.

An Akufo-Addo government in 2017, God-willing and the people of Ghana consenting, he said, would ensure fiscal discipline on how taxpayers' monies would be spent and ensure macroeconomic stability.

'Investors, domestic and foreign, will only be interested in Ghana when they can be assured of the bankability of investing in our economy,' he said.

He continued, 'We will move away from high budget deficits and reckless borrowing because we know of the benefits of fiscal responsibility - low inflation, reduced interest rates, exchange rate stability, avoiding HIPC and making savings for social and capital expenditure.'

Nana Akufo-Addo assured the gathering that 'I bring to the table and to the Office of President of this potentially great country an unblemished track record of personal integrity and fortitude. I invite you to bank on my essential leadership attributes and help make me your president. I will lead a strong fight against corruption in this country.'

TESCON
He told the teeming students that TESCON would be given a role to play in the 2016 elections.

'In all this, TESCON occupies a special place in the life of our nation, of our party and of myself. This is why I am so happy to speak again on a TESCON platform.

The year 2000, the year of its inauguration, saw TESCON take the lead in mobilising the youth of our party and of our country to make the historic change of 2000, when, for the first time in Ghanaian history, an opposition party, the NPP, came to power through the ballot box.

That event gave a great boost to the consolidation of the principles of democratic accountability in our body politic. TESCON in 2000 acted under its wonderful slogan - commitment without inducement. Is that still your slogan? Are you sure? We need it to make history again, to make another crucial change. TESCON has been very generous to me.

It has provided me with my Political Assistant, Francis Asenso-Boakye, its Founding President,' Nana Addo said.

A DAILY GUIDE Report