Speaking on Accra-based Class FM, the deputy minister said: “If you are borrowing for things that can pay for itself in the end, there is nothing wrong with that; there is nothing wrong.”
A Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare, has said that it is not wrong if a nation borrows for projects that can pay for themselves in the future.
Abena Osei Asare
Most Ghanaians and stakeholders have expressed concern over the borrowing rate of the government. These include economists and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The World Bank had recently cautioned Ghana against excessive borrowing. The Bretton Wood institution said Ghana risks being classified as a high debt-distressed country if the situation persists.
The IMF had also warned that the nation was at a high risk of becoming a debt-distressed country.
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However, Mrs Asare said the government is managing the funds prudently and these funds would generate returns in the future.
“What we are also doing to bring about efficiency in the compensation area is one that is what the Auditor-General is doing, that is what we are also doing. Deleting ghost names from the payroll, going out to validate people so that if you are not supped to be on the payroll, you don’t end up being on the payroll.”
“We have come out with the Fiscal Responsibility Act where your deficit is not supposed to go above 5% of GDP and that would help us; previously there was no law. And the PFM will guide us strongly; we believe we will leave within our means”, she added.
