Minority Advises Govt To Pull Brakes On $1bn Syndicated Loan Agreement

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The Minority in Parliament has warned the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government to desist from moving further in getting the House to approve a 1 billion dollar syndicated loan.

According to John Jinapor, a member of the caucus, his side will resist any attempt by the government to rush through the loan approval process like the controversial E-Levy.

“I think that both the Majority and Minority must do the needful and ask the Finance Minister to withdraw this request. We must go through all the processes, look at the true state of the economy why we are in this mess, what we ought to be borrowing and exactly where we are applying those funds.

“Given the current circumstance and what they [Finance Ministry] has given, it’s so opaque, not transparent and does not stand the test of time and I hope MPs from both sides will put the nation first,” Jinapor said.

He noted that, if the loan is approved, the government will “pay almost 50 million dollars as insurance and then pay about 1.75 million dollars as arrangement or agency fee.”

Describing the loan facility as “terrible” and “inimical”, the former Deputy Power Minister said the loan must be withdrawn as soon as possible.

“Even worse is the fact that this government has collateralized almost all revenue streams and is seeking to collateralize more, including our gold royalties under the dubious Agyapa Deal.

“In view of the above, we in the NDC cannot lend support to the 1 billion syndicated loan agreement. We wish to serve notice going forward that the NDC in Parliament will not support any further non-concessionary borrowing or loans that are not project-specific,” he said.

The Finance Ministry is seeking Parliament’s approval for a 750 million dollar loan facility agreement between AfreximBank and a 250 million dollar loan agreement from a syndication of banks to finance Capital and Growth-related expenditures in the 2022 budget.

By: ghanaweb.com