Government reduces national debt -MP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has been able to reduce the national debt because it adopted Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, the Member of Parliament for Suhum, Mr Ransford Yaw Agyapong has said.

Mr Agyapong told the second Odwira Festival of the chiefs and people of Suhum at the weekend that what was saved under the HIPC initiative would be used for poverty alleviation.

He said due to the sound economic policies by the government, the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) received 88.6 billion cedis from January to September, as against 77.75 billion cedis paid to the Fund for the whole of 2000.

Mr Agyapong called for a second look at the ban on the importation of over-aged vehicles into the country. "Some people are taking advantage of it to import such vehicles through neighbouring countries or smuggling and selling them to unsuspecting Ghanaians, thus, depriving the nation of a substantial source of revenue for development."

"At the end of the amnesty period of May 31, 2001, 448 of such vehicles had been cleared and a total revenue of 4.1 billion was realised," he said.