No cause to withdraw from IFC loan negotiations - JAK

President John Agyekum Kufuor has said that the government had not encountered any defects that would warrant her withdrawal from the negotiations to contract one billion cedis from the International Finance Consortium (IFC).

Addressing his second news conference since he became Head of State, President Kufuor said in the government's bid to contract the loan, which was earmarked for massive infrastructure development, the government had acted cautiously in the interest of the people of Ghana and eventually, it would be known that it did not short-changed the nation.

"Within the capacity of the government, due diligence was made to ensure that the Consortium was made up of serious and reputable entities. And at every stage of the negotiations, the government has taken extreme care to ensure that they were fair and above reproach."

President Kufuor stressed that the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank, were aided by lawyers, consultants and experts in the negotiations for the loan to ensure that the right thing was done, saying, "this government is very meticulous in making decisions for the people of Ghana."

The IFC loan agreement has been a regular subject of discussion in the media since the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) held a news conference some months ago and described it as a "419 scum," before it was approved by Parliament.

Recent media reports have said the government was chasing a mirage in its pursuit of the loan and even though the President sought to address the issue in his 40-minute speech, which most of the questions at the news conference centred on it.

Apart from the genuineness of the loan, Journalists asked questions about the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s position on the loan, the sovereign guarantee on the loan and when it would be ready.

President Kufuor said the government would at the appropriate time make public the details of the loan and urged Journalists to let discretion and caution guide their comments on the issue.

He said the IMF had recently expressed satisfaction about the government's management of its financial issues. On how soon the money would be released to Ghana, the President said, "a syndication of this magnitude of the proposed loan takes many months to put together, and to finalise it, it normally entails great discretion on the part of the negotiators."

Explaining why the government was pursuing the loan, President Kufuor said receipts from the national budget or the traditional multilateral lending was unavailable to develop Ghana's infrastructure to acceptable modern standards.

"We had to call upon the vastly greater resources of the capital market," he said, adding that..."it was with this background that when the government was approached, it agreed to talk with the IFC about a billion-dollar loan facility."

He underscored the importance of upgrading infrastructure, saying it would encourage foreign direct investments inflows and facilitate agriculture and industrial growth. Answering a question on a reported statement he allegedly made about the loan becoming ready in two weeks, Senior Minister J.H. Mensah who could not recall giving any deadline, assured Ghanaians that, "the money would come, and you would be glad."

"We are on course, but we do not dictate the pace of proceedings," he said, adding that a definite statement would soon be made on the issue. President Kufuor addressed issues relating to the Economy, Social Services, Agriculture, Foreign Relations, Governance and Infrastructure and what he termed Miscellaneous, in his eight-paged speech and answered questions on his relationship with former President Rawlings, the Gulf

Stream Presidential Jet, the Dagbon Crisis, Work Ethics and Ghana Airways.

The two-hour news conference held at the Castle, Osu was attended by several Journalists from both the Private and the State-owned Media. Vice President Aliu Mahama and more than 25 Ministers of State and government officials were present. President Kufuor announced that the news conference would now be held once every quarter.