PNC welcomes debt relief

Accra, June 28, GNA - The People's National Convention on Tuesday said it appreciates the cancellation of debts owned by 18 countries, including Ghana and called for total debt relief. In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Gabriel Pwamang in Accra, the PNC said it acknowledged the strong leadership demonstrated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Chancellor, Gordon Brown on the matter.

"The political will it took to make this possible was quite remarkable."

It said the enthusiasm that many Ghanaians had expressed about he announcement was appropriate and the PNC would like to remind the public that the relief would be "meaningless if we do not do our part to sustain it."

The statement said it was therefore necessary that Ghanaians ensured that their leaders used the 11-15 per cent of the recurrent expenditure to support the most needy sectors of the economy. The PNC added that it was only by raising the level of productivity that the impact of the temporary respite would be truly felt.

It said in the midst of the euphoria about debt cancellation Ghanaians should be reminded of Dr Kwame Nkrumah's warning that, "after all is said and done, our salvation as a people lies in our ability to adopt Pan-Africanist approach to this economic conundrum."

"It is only then that we can effectively deal with more substantive issues of market accessibility, free trade, capital inflows, subsidies and so forth. If we don't, we will continue to fall prey to the stronger regional grouping of richer countries," the statement added.