President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said his government will continue to borrow money to put up projects he described as “assets”, stressing that every country borrows.
Speaking at an entrepreneurship forum organised by the Tony Elumelo Foundation in Nigeria, Thursday, the President mentioned that many developed countries borrow, including the United States borrow.
“We will borrow money; everybody borrows money,” he noted. “The United States of America is one of the biggest debtors in the world. So borrowing money is not necessarily a betrayal of the concept of independence. The key for us in borrowing money is that we borrow money to create assets that will allow us to pay the money back. That is the key…If we borrow the money and use it properly it is an asset for us in expanding our economy and infrastructure.”
The President was responding to a question from one of the participants who asked why he goes for loans from China despite his Ghana Beyond Aid mantra.
“Borrowing money is not aid,” said Nana Addo as he defended the move by the Chinese government to earmark $60 billion fund for infrastructure projects in Africa.
“What President Xi Jinping offered is a $60 billion fund which African countries can access, not as aid but as loans. If you can produce a project that the Chinese think is worth supporting, you can have access to that money, but you have to pay it back.”
At the China-Africa Forum for Cooperation (FOCAC) 2018 summit in October, China announced a new $60 billion kitty for Africa's development as part of a raft of new measures to strengthen Sino-Africa ties.
The money will be channelled to projects aligned to the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative covering telecommunications, construction of roads, bridges and sea ports, energy, and human capacity development.
These countries, particularly include Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Egypt.
The funding is broken down into several parts with $15 billion being categorised as government grants, $15 billion as interest free loans and $20 billion of credit lines and $5 billion for financing imports from Africa.
One of the African countries which has already received a share of the $60 billion is Ghana.
According to a statement from the office of President Nana Akufo-Addo, the country has signed eight cooperation agreements with China during the 2018 China-Africa summit.
One of the deals includes a $2 billion infrastructure agreement for Ghana to improve its roads and develop railways in exchange for bauxite.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
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all of you calling the President a lies are f u uls.
The public sector lack efficiency , and that's the reason people are beginning to reject big governance . Regions will see breakaway like what volta is experiencing . Blame past NDC governments . Today they're lamenting bitterly because the NPP has taken advantage of the maltreatment and they're determined to split the Akan part of the volta region to form the new Oti region . If the people want to go why not ? The NDC should be ashamed , after several years of continues trust , what did you give back to the people ? And most of them after elections they are never seen . Very wicked and selfish individuals . Next time you must know the true meaning of governance . It is not what you think is good for the people but rather what they feel is good for them . The people have sustained the NDC in all elections including the 2012 which later ended at the supreme court . Due to the wickedness the people have seen the need to split and it means NPP is now having a full region that will guarantee a massive victory in the next election. Finally , Whether a new region is created or not the NDC will never get the support og the vilta if you don't change from greedy governance to governance by the people . We know the MP are not capable of representing our interest entirely and they are equally not capable of taking decisions that will support value for money . Everything about governance in this country is waste . We borrow money to waste and just keep adding to hardship in the country
Him and his Bawumia are pathological liars! Their credibility has come under question! Not even their wives trust the two. We don't take NPP serious anymore! Let's help to defeat them by 2020, before it gets further rotten folks!
IF I AM RIGHT,I THOUGHT AKUFFO ADDO WAS BASHING MAHAMA FOR BORROWING TOO MUCH MONEY AND NPP WAS NOT GOING TO BORROW AND MONEY BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL THE MONEY IN GHANA TO SUSTAIN US.SO WHAT WENT WRONG? DON'T TRUST ANY AFRICAN POLITICIANS THEY ARE ALL POLITICAL COMEDIANS.
Ghana beyond aid papapaa. What a hypocrisy!
NPP are indeed hypocrites. This is HYPOCRISY of the highest order. You guys complained NDC was borrowing too much but what do we witness now. Indeed NPP came to power by telling us lies.
This man Akufu and Baumia are lairs and unscrupulous leaders, They are stealing to pay their personal debts whiles Ghanaians are suffering, look at the way they are bloating like bread. Lies lies, and talk talk, no action))
Hopeless hope. liar.
But please, we have to use the money wisely.
Like seriously? Was that Akufo Addo talking? Am really surprised hearing you say such a thing. So what were you thinking when you said your government will not borrow. Most of these politicians think we those who vote for them don’t think. Well go ahead and borrow, you will come back to us again with the empty promises. It’s absolutely disappointing when Akufo-Addo talks like this and arrogantly think he owns Ghana and nobody checks him and his over bloated government size is worrying. Ghana is for all of us, we vote for people to come and work for us and we become their servants and they become our slave masters.