Govt going for loans has become a very lucrative business for some people - Steve Manteaw

Dr Steve Manteaw, the Co-chairman of Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) has said all the loans the country has been going for especially under the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government have become a very lucrative business in the country.

According to the former Chairman of PIAC, some people in the country are benefitting from the loans that the country has been going for as every loan comes with a commission for the transaction advisors.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Dr Steve Manteaw asked why the country is busily going for loans when the ruling New Patriotic Party while in opposition said that the country has enough money for development.

“Was it not NPP that told us that we have money in this country? If so, why is it that every now and then they go for eurobond since they came into power? Why won’t they stop going for eurobonds to buy the cocoa because we have money in the country? Loans have become a very lucrative business in Ghana. Look for those who are the transaction advisors for those loans we have gone for,” he asserted.

He mentioned former Minister of Finance Dr Kwabena Duffuor as someone who can attest to his claim that the loans that the country has been going for have become a very lucrative business in Ghana.

He further noted that the recent Agyapa deal got Databank involved due to the benefit that it stands to get; thus, the bank withdrew its service due to the complaint from the Civil Society Organizations that saw the bank’s involvement as a conflict of interest since the Finance Minister leading the Agyapa deal owns the bank.

“The recent Agyapa deal, didn’t you see that Databank managed to get involved? If you think there is nothing in it for the bank, it will get involved? We complained bitterly about it before the bank withdrew its service from the Agyapa deal,” he indicated.