The minority members of the finance committee in parliament have rejected three loan agreements totaling $500 million, citing Ghana’s unsustainable debt levels.
This includes the request for $150 million for Primary Health Care Programme, $200 million to finance the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project and $150 million to support public finance management for service delivery programme.
However, during the committee sitting, which had the Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in attendance, the NDC MPs demanded a clear-cut debt restructuring roadmap from the finance ministry before it would consider other loan facilities.
Addressing the media in parliament, MP for Asuogyaman, Ampem Nyarko, warned that the minority will not support any move to borrow more until the government gets a handle on the country’s debt crisis.
“We have taken a very simple position that looking at our debt situation; we’re unable to support further approvals for further loans because we believe that if you’re in a hole, you don’t continue to dig further. We are waiting for the Finance Minister to give us a clear-cut plan to take us out of this debt situation; we need to know our debt sustainability plans; otherwise, we, in the minority, are clear that we’re unable to support any additional borrowings by this government,” he said.
But the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has expressed optimism that further engagements will convince the minority to support the approval of the loans.
“I am confident that further engagements will enable us to achieve the meeting of minds so that these critical facilities that the World Bank has already approved, it’s willing and it’s eager and waiting for those approvals to enable them to disburse, will also be forthcoming shortly.”