The Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, reports that the government has received the entire 750 million dollar loan from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The disclaimer was published in response to comments by Cassiel Ato Forson, the ranking member of the Parliament’s Finance Committee, who claimed the government had received only $713 of the total loan amount.
Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah in a statement on social media refuted such claims and explained the Ministry of Finance occasionally generates escrow accounts for certain resolutions, in this situation the sum of $37million was set aside by the Finance Ministry for debt servicing.
“This arrangement is not new as the Ministry of Finance has, from time to time, created specialised Escrow accounts for specific purposes. In this particular transaction, USD37 million from the facility has been set aside for debt service obligations. All the documentation relating to this arrangement was supplied to and was approved by Parliament,” he stated.
Afreximbank’s efforts were appreciated, he continued, and he guaranteed Ghanaians that the money would be utilised for infrastructural projects as agreed upon by Parliament.
An agreement for a $750 million loan from Afreximbank was authorized by the parliament to support the budget and finance infrastructure projects.
The loan is a component of a $1 billion facility that the government is using to bolster its reserves and fund a number of infrastructure projects across the nation.
The Minority, which had earlier opposed the loan arrangement, changed its position during the debate in order to prevent what they called the collapse of the nation’s economy in the event that the loan was not authorised.
