Government borrowed to invest - Mahama

Contrary to claims by critics that government has over-borrowed and spent funds recklessly, President John Mahama has indicated that the borrowed funds were invested and not pocketed by officials.

Mr. Mahama, in wrapping up his four-day campaign tour of the Western Region, addressed a rally at the Sekondi-Takoradi bus terminal where he taunted the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) on its claim that his government has wasted funds borrowed.

“If you borrow money and invest into roads, have you wasted the money? If you borrow money to build hospitals so that people can have access to healthcare, have you wasted the money? If you borrow money to build schools so that our children can go to secondary school after junior high school, have you wasted the money? If you borrow money and invest it in your stomach, that is when you have wasted the money, but if you use it for schools, hospitals, port expansion, you have not wasted the money,” he explained.

The tour, which was the first after the official campaign launch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), saw the president visiting 16 constituencies in the region, including Agona Nkwanta, Mpohor, Essikado, Kokompe, and Sekondi-Takoradi. He also paid courtesy calls on the chiefs and elders in the region and interacted with residents.