HIPC is not Poverty Tag

The Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) status is an economic theory that does not tag any Ghanaian with poverty, Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said on Saturday.

"Ghana is wealthy, but due to economic mismanagement by the previous government, it is now poor and indebted," Mr Botwe told the Ghana News Agency in an exclusive interview, in reaction to criticisms over the NPP government's decision to join the HIPC initiative.

"It is very bad that as a nation we are using all our earnings to service debts to the chagrin of other social services, but if by just declaring that we can't service our debt we will benefit from a relief, why not?" he asked.

Mr Botwe said with its vast resources Ghana cannot be viewed as poor, but how to get it out of its present state of economic mess and dependency is a problem facing the government.

"People have different economic theories and to my understanding it is just one of those that one has to choose according his or her consciences and the realities on the ground."

"I am not an economist, but I don't see it as bad, he declared. No Ghanaian will be pointed at as coming from a country that can not pay its debts."

He said like all economic theories it may have its pros and cons, but does not rule out the fact that the NPP must take an option.