Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said there are no underlying conditions to the $2billion loan the Chinese government has given to Ghana in support of government’s One-District-One-Factory project.
Speaking in Accra on Sunday, June 25, shortly after his arrival from a working visit to China, Dr Bawumia said government had reached an agreement with the Chinese government for the mutual benefit of both countries.
A section of the populace has argued that the loan assistance from China is meant to derail government’s fight against illegal mining which involves several Chinese nationals in the country. But Dr Bawumia said the Chinese government does not support galamsey.
“I’m not sure there is a string attached [to the loan]. This is why I said that we went with our own thinking in terms of how we want the financing model to be. Of course, for any partnership we presented the case that whatever investment China makes in Ghana, it’s a good thing for them as it is for us. It’s a win-win situation,” he stated.
“Nobody goes to invest in another country and say that they want to lose and the whole structuring of the financing model. It’s a joint venture structuring, so if the enterprise is good it will benefit everybody; it’s not one that we say there are the strings attached… “It’s a financing model. For example, the One- District-One-Factory, you don’t have to take that loan or that facility. Nobody will force you to go and take it, but if you think it will help you in setting up the factory, you go to the bank and arrange for that particular financing. But if you think you have a better financing arrangement, you go there. It’s not by force [the $2billion] is just providing you with alternatives. So for us, it’s a partnership, joint venture, that we are going to do in many aspects of the economy with China. So there are no strings attached.”
