NPP Has Borrowed GH¢50 Billion In Just Two Years--Mahama

Former president John Dramani Mahama has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of embarking on a borrowing spree, which he says has currently hit GH¢50 billion in just two years.

Mahama said the NPP previously accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of engaging in massive borrowings but are currently doing worse.

He explained that the erstwhile NDC government, led by himself, borrowed GH¢40 billion within four years, but the Nana Addo government has so far borrowed more despite being in power for less than two years.

Mahama was speaking to some party supporters during his campaign tour of the Techiman South district of the Brong Ahafo region.

Former president, John Dramani Mahama
According to him, the government must show evidence of what it used the borrowed money for.

'During my tenure, they said I borrowed ¢40 billion within four years but within two years this government has borrowed up to ¢50 billion. Where is the evidence of how the money was used?' the NDC flagbearer aspirant queried.

However, Mahama's claims have strongly been refuted by the government.

According to Daniel Okyem Aboagye, who is a member of Parliament's Finance Committee, the Nana-Addo administration has not even sent a loan of GH¢10 billion to Parliament to be approved.

'We have not borrowed the amount of money he is talking about in two years,' he said.

'Most of them are the interest component [of previous loans] that needs to be financed that is what is making the debt stock grow.

'Any money that is borrowed in Ghana goes through Parliament. Have you heard that Parliament has approved even ¢10 billion in loans?'

Mr. Okyem Aboagye, who is also MP for Bantama, maintain that the Akufo-Addo government is doing better than the NDC did.

According to him, the NDC still has the worst record when it comes to borrowing.

'It seems to me that he doesn't understand that whatever level the NDC government left us in terms of borrowing…in eight years, they took it from ¢9.5 billion [during president Kufuor's administration] and sent it to ¢122 billion,' he added.