We will not burden taxpayers with our 'Big Push' plan – Fiifi Kwetey -

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has pledged to fund their US$10 billion infrastructure plan as outlined in their manifesto ahead of the December 7 polls through various means other than overly burdening taxpayers.

The party believes that just as they were able to source funds amounting to over $6 billion in their last four (4) years without depending on taxes of the ordinary Ghanaian, they can replicate the same processes and systems to generate funding for the big push agenda.

Spokesperson of the party on issues of Finance and Economy, Fiifi Kwetey in an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Afrifa-Mensah, host of the Epa Hoa Daben political talk show said, “We have established that we have a record of getting things done without burdening the taxpayer. With the terminal three (3) project, for example, we didn’t have to rely on the taxpayer. The airport authorities raised the money for themselves and the same can be said for the Tema port expansion project. The Ghana port authority and its partners were able to manage funds for the project.

Ghana gas was also able to leverage financing for themselves and that is what we do. We’ve shown that we have the track record of doing things without borrowing and burdening taxpayers and that is what we will do for our big push agenda.”

Reinforcing the notion that the big push infrastructure was never going to be an impossibility for the party, the MP for Ketu South furthered that as the NDC secured funding for most projects the current administration prides itself in, it will repeat the cycle and leave a legacy when voted to power on December 7.

“President Akufo-Addo has no clue where and how funds for the Pokuase and Obetsebi interchanges were secured. The same thing with Tema-Akosombo railway. They have no idea how we got money for these projects and they want to claim projects we started as theirs.”

The Former Deputy Finance Minister, however, admitted that borrowing in its sense is not a bad thing. “We can do well by not borrowing more but less in the country”

Ex-President John Mahama, flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has announced a $10 billion accelerated infrastructural plan, dubbed the Big Push, which he says will inject money into infrastructural development while driving jobs and the entrepreneurial agenda.