Ghana’s debt stock now stands at GHC 138 billion, deputy information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed.
The Minority had accused the Finance Minister of failing to declare the country’s debt when he presented the 2018 budgetary estimates in Parliament on Wednesday.
The mainly NDC MPs questioned why the Finance Minister has boldly proclaimed that debt to GDP ratio in the 2017 budget estimates but failed to do same this time around.
Reacting to this claim on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen on Wednesday, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi produced the debt to GDP figures and challenged ‘anyone with contrary figures to come out with them.’
“The debt stock as at September [2017] is 138.9 billion, I am challenging anyone with contrary figures to come forward with that…I will give anyone who challenges me the figures to calculate himself.
“After the calculation then they can tell whether it is true or not, they shouldn’t turn around and ask me how it is this figure or that…,” he charged.
He further revealed that the country’s ‘debt to GDP now stands at GHC 138.9 billion to GHC 203.4 billion’.
He maintained that the figures, he and the ministry are presenting are genuine figures from the Finance Ministry.
The refusal of the Minister to mention the figures, Yapei-Kusawgu MP, John Jinapor who was on the show said happened because the Minister does not want to expose it to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He further said that the country’s debt which was GHC 132 billion as a time the NDC was exiting power had increased to this huge amount (138.9million).
