Akufo-Addo borrowed $11.5 billion within 5 years, I borrowed just $3.5 billion but did many projects — Mahama

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has criticized the government for allegedly mismanaging an $11.5 billion loan facility secured over the past eight years.

Mahama argued that, if effectively utilized, these funds could have been directed toward transformative projects capable of advancing Ghana’s development to the level of cities like Dubai.

Speaking during a special prayer service with the Muslim community at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in the Ashanti Region, Mahama drew comparisons between the current administration’s use of loans and his own tenure as president.

He emphasized that his administration, with a comparatively smaller $3.5 billion loan, successfully financed major infrastructure projects. These included the expansion of Tema Harbour, the construction of Terminal 3 at Kotoka International Airport, and numerous other initiatives aimed at fostering national development.

“President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo borrowed to a tune of $11.5 billion just within 5 years. Despite all the developmental projects that I championed when I was president, we only borrowed to the tune of $3.5 billion.

“If I had borrowed to the tune of $11.5 billion when I was president, Ghana would have been developed like Dubai," he stated.