Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur says their political opponents had it wrong when they said government was spending more on interest paid on loans than investing in the economy.
He said they failed to demonstrate an understanding of basic economics at a lecture chastising government.
Speaking at Ashaiman during the launch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)'s Greater Accra Zonal Campaign team Sunday, Amissah Arthur criticised 'their opponent' for failing to understand a “simple concept.”
"Even anybody knows that if I borrow money to pay for a road and it is going to take me 10 years to pay for that loan, every year I take one-tenth of the money and use it to pay part from the person I borrowed from..." he said in response to that claim.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Vice-Presidential Candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia last Thursday held a lecture at the National Theater on the theme “The State of the Ghana Economy – A Foundation of Concrete or Straw" where he alleged that government despite having more resources than any government ever in the history of Ghana has been wasteful.
Also, he provided data to indicate that Ghana is spending more to service interest payments than it spends on infrastructural/capital projects annually.
However, Mr Amissah Arthur who was once the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana said Dr Bawumia got it “very wrong” explaining that paying interest on a loan used to construct social infrastructure is in itself a capital expenditure.
“There is no way you are paying interest for nothing at all. You pay interest only for projects you have borrowed money for. So how can you say we paid interest more than expenditure? It is that capital expenditure money that you are paying as interest.”
“This one it is a simple thing that we learn in primary school. I don’t see how people who have qualification cannot understand this simple concept,” he said.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
What is the vice president telling us? He has rather got it all wrong. He seems not to understand the statement by the astute economics, Dr Alhaji Bawumia. Bawumia is saying that the interest payment on loans as in the budget is bigger than the capital expenditure for a particular year under review. This is black and white in the national budget. Why is the former governor beating about the ***barred word***? He does not understand the economics and the import of that statement, period. How can Ghana move forward under such leadership??????
Bawumia got it wrong? He predicted that you'll go to IMF. You actually ran there? Did he lie, then?
I think the best person to talk to (or reply to) is the Economy of Ghana, and not Bawumia. Talk to the cedi to return to 1.8 to the dollar. Talk to unemployment to cease so our graduates have jobs. To depreciation and lowering of the peoples' purchasing power to stop. To the suspended electricity and water prices, talk to them never to return in 2017. And to the plastered dumsor wound to heal, so it does not suddenly re-appear after the elections, please direct your reply. Then we'll stop listening to Bawumia.
The vice president is just being intellectually dishonest. If not then God help Ghana. The man is very DUM B. Are these supposed to be the inteligent people in the NDC. How did he become the governor of the Bank of Ghana. No wonder these NDC guys go and get online doctorates. Just allows them to lend credibility to their lies.