Since 1992, Ghana has been governed by the two main political parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). These parties should accept blame or praise if, in their honest assessment of the economy after 60 years, they had done good or bad to the nation.
The Minister of State designate at the Finance Ministry, Abena Osei-Asare, at her recent vetting told the Appointments Committee of Parliament that the public debt stock has hit GH₡621 billion as of 2023, translating to US$53.3 billion.
This is the entire debt Ghana owes, from the era of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to the present Nana Akufo-Addo regime. Borrowing for development is not a bad thing, as the super economies also borrow. In fact, looking at the size of our economy, it will be virtually impossible to undertake any meaningful project with domestic funds. It is public knowledge that the United States of America is indebted to the People’s Republic of China.
Regardless, our concern is what do we have to show for the debt we owe. This is a debt that generations unborn will come to pay and, therefore, the only justification would be to point to tangible evidence, as in what have we used the loans to do to benefit the people.
At the vetting we referred to, the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who grilled the Minister of State designate at the Finance Ministry on the public debt, appeared shocked at the amount owed and asked the nominee to point to projects executed with the funds.
We do not intend to hold a brief for any political party, but, in our candid opinion, none of the two main political parties can exonerate itself from the public debt debate. The details as to who did what and with what amount, can be a topic for another discussion.
In a country where the ruling government always becomes the ‘devil’ and the opposition the ‘angel’, observers can only describe such actors as one people of different colours, playing different roles at the same time.
The Chronicle thinks that the country cannot continue on the path of political deceit to win power and expect proper development. We were in a meeting that had the UN Representative to Ghana in attendance, who said not all the funds the nation borrows or is gifted go into projects. He was blunt, saying that some of these funds are lost to corruption, which is hindering the development of the nation.
We are very concerned about the blame game between these two parties, who appear to be taking ordinary citizens for a ride. Not a week will go by in the country without the opposition accusing the government of corruption, and the government, on the other hand, justifying by saying the opposition did worse when in office. Both the NPP and the NDC are good at this, no matter who is in government or opposition.
When the NDC is in power, all their actions are right to them, and the NPP in opposition sees everything wrong, and vice versa. This must stop.
We cannot, as a nation, continue to borrow money for development and end up with nothing to show for, but pile up the already elephant-sized debt. It has to stop and we think that the Office of the Special Prosecutor and other responsible agencies must be wide awake to save this nation from sinking into the abyss.
