Govt will account for all loans contracted- Kufuor

Accra, Jan.7, GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday assured Ghanaians that the government would account for every cedi in loans it had secured since its assumption of office in 2001.

"Government will account for every bit of the loans secured since we came into power and this will be adequately catered for in this year's budget to be submitted to Parliament soon," he said.

President Kufuor was answering a question from Mr George Boateng, a former Union executive of the Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) on alleged 22 trillion cedis external debt incurred since the government took office.

The President answered questions from the public at a two-hour session at the third People's Assembly at the International Conference Centre (AICC) in Accra.

The Assembly, which would be replicated in all the 10 Regions, was a novelty by the government to create an annual platform for a cross-section of Ghanaians to interact with the Executive to exchange views and ideas on government policies and programmes.

Highlights of President Kufuor's 15-minute address before the forum were on the proposed sale of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis and efforts to clean Accra and other regional capitals of filth. The Assembly, which climaxed activities marking the 11 years of the Fourth Republic and Three years of Positive Change, was under the theme: "Good Governance Through Democracy-Three Years of Positive Change."

President Kufuor did not disclose the actual amount Ghana had contracted but stressed that the loans were secured for Ghana to increase productivity and for development and would be well accounted for, to the people.

In an answer to another question by Mr William Akoto-Bamfo, a citizen of Mpraeso-Kwahu on measures taken by government to include artisans and others in the informal sector into the tax net, President Kufuor said it had been a major problem.

However, he said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) had been directed to institute measures that would widen the tax net to include most of the artisans and people in the informal sector. Mr Kennedy Abotsi, President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) threatened the government that within two weeks the students body would advise itself on the next action to take should the Government failed to clear its arrears to the GETFUND, which he alleged to be 411 billion cedis.

"Our patience is running out on the payment of the GETFUND arrears and if two weeks after today the arrears are not reconciled we will advise ourselves," he said.

But President Kufuor, who had earlier answered a question on the GETFUND, explained that the government had investigated the payment of arrears into the Fund, adding that the Government would not allow the GETFUND to be abused by any person.

He said the government was determined to provide the best quality of education for students and that they should show healthy respect in their dealings with public officials and not allow themselves, to be manipulated.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, in reaction said the GETFUND was calculated on 20 per cent of VAT receipts and a special account had been created for it at the Bank of Ghana (BOG).

He said the National Executive Committee of NUGS, which initiated the reconciliation of arrears held meetings with the relevant officials to ascertain the truth about the arrears, which stood about 218 billion cedis.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said the payment of arrears of the Fund and the District Assembly Common Fund would be spread over five years. He said that for last year, had been settled.

He noted that NUGS had always based their arguments on the projections of VAT receipts made by the Ministry in the budget and not the actual revenue collected, hence the differences.