Bawumia is dreaming; China will not part with15 bn without guarantees- Adongo

Member of Parliament for Bolga Central has fired a warning shot at the Vice President ahead of what is expected to be a controversial parliamentary discussion on the $15 billion Chinese loan.

Albert Adongo says the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia “must be dreaming” if he ever believed the Chinese will part with a whopping $15 billion with no guarantees.

The Chinese are not “father Christmas” to give out “freebies” to Ghana, he said whilst discussing the joint venture agreement between Ghana and China.

The Vice President led a government delegation to China and announced on his return a deal that will potentially hand Ghana a $15 billion worth of investment by the Chinese government.

He brought with him two MOUs and promised that details of the agreement will be brought to Parliament for scrutiny before passage.

He was quick to dismiss the claim by the minority that the deal was a loan that will cripple Ghana’s over exposed debt burden.

He described the deal as a joint venture in which Ghana will be parting with only 5% of its bauxite deposit in exchange for the $15 billion investment by the Chinese.

But even before the transaction will be brought before Parliament, Bolga Central MP Albert Adongo has fired a salvo at the Vice President and seeking further and better particulars of the transaction at the same time.

According to him, there are already three companies in Ghana mining bauxite, one of which is a Chinese company.

He explained about 58% of Ghana’s bauxite reserve had already been given out to the companies which does not amount to even $19 billion.

He wondered why the Chinese will offer to accept 5% of that reserve for $15 billion and over when it is clear they can just acquire a license, like one of its companies have done, without paying a ridiculous sum of $15 billion.

This is a “ridiculous proposal” that is not supported by any business sense, he argued, reiterating the point that China is not in the business of giving freebies to distressed governments.

For an MP whose governments under the late John Mills and John Mahama failed to secure the much publicised $3 billion promise from China, Albert Adongo said it will be next to impossible to secure 15 billion under the conditions Bawumia was busy pontificating on.

“The Vice President is struggling so hard to paint a picture of China being a father Christmas to Ghana,” he fired, insisting Bawumia will be dreaming if he ever believed that transaction can happen.

He said the Vice President is hiding from Ghanaians the real details behind the transaction and believed Ghana will be offering its sovereign guarantee as part of the deal.

“The Chinese will not give $10bn without protection,” he said, adding, immediately Ghana issues a guarantee it goes into the heart of Ghana’s debt and will increase the country’s portfolio.

Source: Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah