Parliament approves $750 million financing agreements
PARLIAMENT yesterday reconvened for an urgent business and approved seven loan agreements totalling $750 million to enhance public sector reforms, food security, COVID-19 response measures and digital acceleration agenda.
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The facilities, which were approved during the emergency sitting, were an on-lending agreement between the Government of Ghana (GoG) and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group for an amount of $150 million to finance the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme phase two under the Multipurpose Programme Approach.
Also approved were a €170 million between the GoG and the Development Bank of Ghana for the establishment of the Development Bank of Ghana, a $60.6 million agreement between the GoG and the IDA of the World Bank Group as a third additional financing for the Ghana COVID-19 emergency preparedness.
Again, a $30 million response project and an agreement between the GoG and the Government of the Republic of Korea [acting through the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Government Agency for the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF)], an agreement between the GoG and the IDA of the World Bank for an amount of $150 million to finance the Primary Healthcare investment Project and a $150 million agreement between the GoG and the IDA to finance the Public Financial Management for service delivery project, were all approved.
Additionally, the House approved a financing agreement between the GoG and the IDA for an amount of $200 million to finance the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project.
Urgent business
The loan agreements, which had been on the books already, were supposed to have been approved by the House before it adjourned sine die on March 31, 2023.
On April 20, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, sent out notice to recall Members from recess for a one-day emergency sitting.
A recall instrument signed by Mr Bagbin said the Members of Parliament (MPs) were to report to the legislative assembly on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, to consider “urgent parliamentary business.”
Approval
When they reconvened, the loan agreements were approved after the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng, had submitted the reports of the Finance Committee on the agreements and informed the House that the agreements were endorsed by a Majority decision at the committee level, though all the members of the Minority voted against the agreements.
After presenting the report, he moved the motion for the House to adopt the committee’s reports and approve the facilities.
Why Minority opposes agreements
Contributing to the debate, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, said given the enormous impact of loans on the country, he did not think it was time for the government to take additional loans.
He said Ghana was currently insolvent and had defaulted in the repayment of its external and domestic debts.
Citing an example, he said just last week, one of the rating agencies that the Ghana government had contracted had downgraded Ghana to “restrictive default.”
“Mr Speaker, simply put, we are in a deep hole and what I know is that when you are in a hole the first thing you do is to stop digging, but