The Office of the Vice President has denied claims by Mr Alhassan Suhuyini, the Member of Parliament for Tamale North that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in the run-up to the 2016 elections tweeted that if the NPP wins power, it would never borrow.
A statement issued and signed by Dr Gideon Boako, the Spokesperson to the Vice President and copied to the Ghana News Agency, challenged Mr Suhuyini or any other person to produce evidence to support the claim.
“On Saturday, June 15, 2019, during the Joy News/TV news analysis show, Newsfile, Mr Suhuyini peddled blatant falsehood Dr Bawumia tweeted that the NPP Party, when voted into office, will harness the resources of the country to develop Ghana without borrowing”, the statement said.
It said although other panellists on the show disclaimed the assertion and called for its disregard Mr. Suhuyini failed to accept guilt.
It said Mr. Suhuyini failed to produce evidence to his claim but rather called for international IT experts to help him provide the evidence.
"I wish to place on record to Mr. Suhuyini, his NDC cohorts and all those who take delight in communicating such falsehood that Dr. Bawumia never made any tweets or statements during the 2016 campaign period that the NPP government would never borrow if voted to power.
“I am by this statement challenging Mr. Suhuyini or anyone who has evidence to the contrary to adduce same, “the statement said.
It said Dr Bawumia and the Government of President Akufo-Addo still stand by the principle of responsible public expenditure financing through the optimal mix of tax revenues, borrowed funds, grants or any other sources useful to the development of the country.
It said like the over 13 billion cedis borrowed to save the deposits of over 1.2 million customers of distressed banks and microfinance institutions, government would continue to exercise its discretion of borrowing insofar as it remained important, needful and permissible.
"Government is, however, mindful of the need to ensure debt sustainability, judicious use of borrowed funds, and the productivity that must come with such funds.
"It is in the light of this that this government has taken the painstaking efforts to avert the mistakes of the past and passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act to constrain government borrowing not to exceed a certain limit of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Politics is supposed to be a decent game and all actors therein must communicate with facts. I urge the media to constantly put everyone to strict proof for every claim made," the statement added.
