‘NDC can’t move the country without loans’

The Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea has said the rate at which the government of the day is acquiring loans from the International Community is frightening.

According to him, “the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party cannot move the country without loans. So far $7 billion has been disbursed as loans and they are still going in for more”.

Parliament in September approved the controversial $3 billion Chinese loan agreement which according to the government will be used for infrastructural development across the country most of which will be in the Western Region.

Speaking on Metro TV’s “Good Morning Ghana” programme, Nana Akomea chronicled various loan agreements between the government of Ghana and various governments which he described as “frightening”.

However, a Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who was also a panel member of the programme disagreed with Nana Akomea stating “the country needs infrastructure. We need roads, railways and housing. The housing deficit in the country is about 1.5million according to experts and we need to solve that”.

He debunked claims that the government is borrowing “too much” adding that; Ghana’s loan sustainability rate is 38.98% which is far less than the maximum debt sustainability rate of 60 %.

The NPP, he said, has always been on the wrong side of history. “They often opposed anything that is for the progress of this country. They opposed everything Dr. Nkrumah wanted to do for this country. They opposed the construction of Akosombo dam which today serves 70% of our electricity needs. They were against the construction of Tema Motorway and many others”, he said adding “I am not surprised they are against the $3billion Chinese loan today”.