The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu says the country is simply broke and experiencing diverse economic crises.

The Tamale South MP said the current situation is in spite of support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to enable the government introduce policies that will turn the country's economic fortunes around amid the Covid -19 pandemic.

“I am simply saying that we are at the precipices of some multiple crises, let’s not make pretensions about it. All is not well with the Ghanaian economy, we simply are broke," he said on JoyNews.

Speaking in a one-on-one interview on PM Express Monday, May 24, Haruna Iddrisu said, with the current state of Ghana's economy, it may be difficult for any private entity to invest in the country.

The government introduced the CARES Programme, also known as the Obaatanpa Programme, among other policies, to revitalise the economy from the effects of the Covid- 19 pandemic by supporting various enterprises. But the Minority Leader had some concerns about the programme.

“The CARE programme, how is it going to be funded with the rate of your public debt, You think when you have debt ballooning, the private sector is interested in investing in that economy,?” he quizzed.

According to him, the IMF recognised the Obaatanpa programme because, “it spans a longer period than the tenure of President Nana Akufo-Addo”.

To buttress his point, he said, "the Finance Minister [for instance] instead of servicing the debts rather postponed it and that is problematic for the future".

“What Ken Ofori-Atta has clearly done, is to defer and postpone debt that he ought to have paid in the last four years to 2025 and beyond when he will not be in office.”

He further stated that the Bank of Ghana, at the time of negotiating the IMF deal, had a Zero percent finance. Then, “Ken Ofori Attah as the Minister of Finance comes to Parliament to say that he wants to borrow ten billion Ghana cedis from the Bank of Ghana.”

Referring to the BoG’s Act, the Tamale South MP stated that it does not allow borrowing or financing an amount that exceeds a certain percentage of the total revenue of the previous year.”

“Granted that they met that requirement, we are told that today, the Bank of Ghana finances the Ministry of Finance to the tune of 22 billion and beyond.”

Mr Idrissu, therefore, noted there has been a breach of that law because the percentage that was approved in Parliament was exceeded.

 “I’m aware that the Bank of Ghana has financed the government with not less than 22 billion,” the Minority Leader stated.

He said the Ministry, instead of servicing, postponed the country’s debt and later refinanced it, therefore, should not praise itself as it is unwarranted.

“They are praising themselves while hiding numbers from the Parliament and from the public because as far as Parliament is concerned, they came to borrow only ten billion. Now the numbers have soared to 22 billion and still counting,” he stressed.