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Opinions of Monday, 13 October 2014

Columnist: Sarpong, Justice

NDC Modus Operandi, 'Cooking' IMF Statistical Numbers

The brouhaha surrounding the NDC 'cooked' statistical figures of debt to GDP ratio to IMF to cloud the reality of the true state of the Ghanaian economy cannot be said to have been answered by a email sent citifmonline.com.

This is what IMF said on Wednesday September the 8, 2014.

"According to the Bretton Woods Institution, the West African country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 71%, not 55%.The Fund made the revelation on Wednesday in Washington during a Fiscal Monitor Report briefing.Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department of the Fund, Sanjeev Gupta, said: “First of all, the debt-to-GDP ratio in Ghana is 71 percent, not 60 percent; so it is much higher than you mentioned”, he clarified, as he responded to a question at the briefing."

The important word in the above statement is the word "IS". IMF did not say the Ghana debt to GDP ratio 'WOULD BE' 71% in 2015 as the said email to citifmonline.com is saying.

Why did the IMF send a email to citifmonline.com instead of the usual press release? Did the citifmonline.com send email to IMF seeking clarification? According to the said email, “The latest actual figure available to IMF staff for end-2013 is equivalent to 56 percent of GDP, consistent with the figures released by the Bank of Ghana.The IMF clarified that Sanjeev Gupta’s statement was rather their projected figure for 2015. ”

We are in 2014 and the email is talking about the end of 2013 and what the projected debt percentage to GDP will be in 2015, what about projected figure at the end of 2014? Maybe this would not have created such a furor if NDC has not done this before. This is not the first time NDC has done this. They did it the first time during Rawlings administration in 2000 and Ghana paid $20 million penalty for NDC massaging statistical numbers.

The NDC again lied to IMF during Mills/Mahama administration in 2009 when Dr. Duffour, then the Finance Minister presented booming economic figures and praised the previous NPP administration of leaving a healthy economy in order to get IMF loans at a better condition. The same year, Dr Duffour presented different statistical numbers in his budget presentation to Parliament different from the numbers he gave to IMF to get loans. This has been NDC modus operandi since that gang of thieves started masquerading as a party.

Just a week ago NDC was still insisting its debt to GDP ratio was 55 percent when at the end of the year 2013 it was 56 percent and we know they have borrowed 1.7 billion dollars for cocoa purchase, another 1 billion dollars it received for selling bonds at the bonds market a month ago. Coupled with smaller loans, this useless administration has borrowed at least 3 billion dollars alone in 2014 before the year ends so we know they are in 65-70 percentile of the debt to GDP percentage.

The IMF just want a face saving for this administration and don't want to come out like it is helping Mahama and that is why it left itself a window of opportunity to wiggle its way out by not talking about the debt to GDP ratio percentage in 2014.Has this government not signed any loan contract in 2014?

The government releases its financial report quarterly and we all know they have the quarterly report for September so why are they still talking about the end of December 2013 when they at least have the end of June 2014 quarterly report?Anyway if it is 56 percent at the end of 2013, why is NDC saying it was 55 percent? A one percent figure might not seem a lot but it can translate into half a billion dollars in unreported loans.

The figure this clueless administration is trying to avoid is the 60% debt to GDP ratio threshold and we all know that 60% threshold has been crossed in 2014. This government has borrowed more than 3 billion dollars in 2014 alone.

As recently as two weeks ago, NDC said its debt to GDP ratio is 55%. Is NDC telling us it has not signed for any loans in 2014? Damn thieves destroying the economy of Ghana and leaving unborn Ghanaians astronomical debt for them to pay. Ghana at the moment has more than 30 billion dollars in debt. Our debt at the beginning of 2009 was only 8 billion dollars and what have we got for all the loans NDC has contracted?

NDC Party headquarters at 20 million dollars

Woyome gift of 25 million dollars

GYEEDA 250 million create, loot and share

SADA 'Akomfem and tree planting 45 million dollars. (The Akomfems are still at lunch in Burkina Faso)

SUBA 150 million dollars

Isofoton 20 million dollars

Burkina Faso 600,000 dollars wall erection at Ghana Embassy there.

NSS 94 million dollars stealing a year

Mahama 20% on the 2.5 billion plane purchase contract from Brazil

Etc.

Justice Sarpong

(CARDINAL of TRUTH)