Gov't Must Brief Ghanaians On HIPC Conditionalities - Atta Mills

Former Vice President Professor John Atta Mills has faulted finance minister Yaw Osafo Marfo for not telling Ghanaians about the HIPC conditionalities when he announced the reaching of the decision point.

Government officials have almost always failed to disclose details of the HIPC conditionalities, and according to Professor Mills, there are conditions attached to all forms of donor assistance.

He noted that the conditionalities attached to the HIPC initiative would have serious effects on the living standards of many Ghanaians.

The country reached the HIPC decision point on Friday and the finance minister announced at a media briefing yesterday that the World Bank and IMF have approved Ghana’s application for debt relief under the HIPC initiative.

Professor Mills who was commenting on the budget during an interaction with the media prior to his departure to Canada, said government should have been bold enough to inform Ghanaians of the full details of the conditionalities.

Professor Mills also cautioned government to be aware of the likely implications of the courageous decision to increase in the producer price of cocoa.