Funding cocoa purchases from loans is reckless - CPP tells Dr. Dufuor

The Convention People's Party (CPP), has described as failure, government's decision to sign a syndicated loan of US$ 1.5 billion for the purchase of the current crop of cocoa.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) recently signed the loan facility on behalf of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and described it as exemplary feat in the management of the economy.

According to the Ministry, the loan agreement was indicative of the government's good economic development management performance of the Ministry. The ministry reportedly said it had exercised fiscal discipline and defied the bug of reckless and unfruitful expenditure that has enabled the economy to retain the single digit rate of inflation of 9.5% even in an election year.

However, the CPP in a statement issued on Thursday said "it is undeserving for the ministry to demand commendation for its inability to manage the economy in a direction that would have enabled us to finance the purchase of our cocoa from our own resources".

"It is the result of their evident failure in this regard that we have to resort to external borrowing that involves the transfer of interest payments overseas.

We point out that the external borrowing of funds for cocoa purchases was not known under the CPP Government. Cocoa being Ghana's main economic backbone, the CPP had put the system in place of buying all cocoa from farmers, selling to overseas companies at a profit to the nation and using the money to develop Ghana - scholarships, water and sewage and other social

infrastructure of roads, electricity, hospitals, schools etc,” the statement said.

The CPP said “a pre-export finance facility from a syndicate of 31 banks from 17 countries in Europe, America and Asia which could mean interest payments of $150 to $300million per year, and thus depriving Ghana of millions for development, is not the scenario the CPP planned for Ghana.

“It is an economic and financial descent for which our Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is seeking commendation; they want us to pat them on the back for engaging in a reckless, selfish and wasteful expenditure.

The CPP assumes that MOFEP's “fiscal discipline” means the country has funds that they are holding on to and thus urge them not to hold on to the funds if they have it, but spend to create jobs as expenditure cuts, austerity measures".

It claimed, single digit inflation had not achieved the desirable objectives of job creation, industrialisation and increased agricultural production that leads to a constant supply of food at affordable prices for ordinary citizens and agricultural raw materials for the manufacturing entities that are dependent on them.

It said its position was supported by a UN Agency - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its just-published Trade and Development Report 2012.

“As predicted by UNCTAD economists, fiscal austerity and wage compression are further weakening growth in developed countries without achieving the expected results of reduced fiscal deficits, job creation, and renewed confidence of financial markets,” the statement quoted UNCTAD as saying.

According to the CPP, the Ministry would have deservedly earned its respect and commendation, when it delivers self-financing of Cocoa purchasing and measures which lead to industrialisation and create jobs.

Story by Ghana/Myjoyonline.com/Jerry Tsatro Mordy