Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has accused the minority in Parliament of pushing for a return to what he described as an era of reckless borrowing and expenditure practices under the previous government. Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Thursday, July 24, Dr Ato Forson said the minority’s criticism of his fiscal decisions was flawed. This is a government that, during their time, eight years, they were used to reckless spending,” he claimed.
“So he (Kojo Oppong Nkrumah) is used to over-expenditure — a finance minister who just signs cheques, borrows left, right, and centre, and spends even if you don’t have money. So that is what you should expect from them. They are interested in nothing but reckless borrowing and reckless expenditure.” Dr Ato Forson insisted that the current administration would not adopt that approach, describing it as a disciplined government focused on directing public resources towards priority areas.
“This government is not going that way. This is a government that is spending on the right things,” he said. The finance minister accused the previous administration of spending on areas he considered less critical while failing to meet financial obligations to key social programmes.
“You recall that during their time, they were just spending and failing to pay the National Health Insurance, Ghana Education Trust Fund, and District Assembly Common Fund. So they were spending on the wrong things and leaving the right things,” he stated. He added that delayed payments affected several sectors, including healthcare providers, school feeding caterers and education-related programmes.
“National Health Insurance was always crying; providers were always in the news; school feeders were saying they were not being paid; GETFund was not being paid; all of that,” Dr Forson stated. He argued that the situation had changed under the current administration, with the government now focusing expenditure on areas that support development and improve public services. We are spending money on the right things, and development is also happening at the same time,” he said.
Dr Forson questioned whether the minority wanted government to increase borrowing despite limited revenue, warning against excessive borrowing and spending without a sustainable financial plan.
Summary from source