You can’t account for oil revenue yet you’re borrowing – Muntaka to gov't

The Akufo-Addo-led administration is sending Ghana into the abyss following its excessive borrowing, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, Member of Parliament for Asawase, has said.

In his view, the government has not been able to account for some of the oil revenues yet is still going around borrowing to service debts.

The lawmaker told Accra 100.5FM’s Parliamentary correspondent Richard Appiah Sarpong after the presentation of the mid-year budget statement by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on Monday, 29 July 2019 that, “By the end of this year the public debt will exceed the GHS204billion. The government is just plunging this country into huge debt and it doesn’t make sense. The way they are running the economy is worrying. It is very worrying that in spite of the huge money from the oil, they can't even account for it, they are still borrowing.”

Mr Ofori-Atta while delivering the Mid-year budget review revealed that Ghana’s debt has ballooned to GHS204billion.

The total public debt was GHS198 billion, as of March 2019, representing 57.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data – May 2019.

He said: “The gross public debt stock in nominal terms stood at GHS204 billion (US$38.7 billion) as at end-June 2019, representing 59.2 per cent of GDP”.

He attributed the increased to frontloading the financing requirements for 2019 in the first quarter.

He added that: “Debt accumulation in the subsequent quarters is expected to ease downwards and stabilise”.

The share of the external debt stock increased from 50.2 per cent at end-December 2018 to 52.8 per cent at the end of June 2019, mainly driven by the issuance of Eurobonds of US$3.0 billion in March.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also disbursed an amount of US$184.30 million in March 2019 after their seventh and eight reviews of the Extended Credit Facility Programme.

“On account of these two major inflows, a net amount of US$2.9 billion, equivalent to approximately GHS14.8 billion, was added to the debt stock,” Mr Ofori-Atta stated.