No borrowing claim: Provide evidence – Bawumia’s spokesperson

The spokesperson of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has challenged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to provide evidence that the economist promised the NPP will not borrow to develop Ghana when it comes to power.

NDC MP for Tamale North over the weekend read a tweet supposedly coming from the Twitter account of the then-vice presidential candidate of the NPP Dr. Bawumia to the effect that the Elephant party, if given the mandate, would never borrow for the country’s developmental agenda.

It is “blatant falsehood”, Bawumia’s spokesperson Dr. Gideon Boako said in a statement on Monday, 17 June 2019

“I wish to place on record to Mr. Suhuyini, his NDC cohorts and all those who take delight in communicating such falsehood that Dr. Bawumia never made any tweets or statements during the 2016 campaign period that the NPP government would never borrow if voted to power,” Dr. Boako noted.

He has, therefore, challenged Mr. Suhuyini and critics of the vice president “who has evidence to the contrary to adduce same.”

Below is the full statement:

Alhassan Suhuyini Fabricated Bawumia’s Supposed Tweet on No Borrowing by NPP

On Saturday 15th June, 2019, during the Joy News/TV news analysis show, Newsfile, member of Parliament for the Tamale North Constituency, Hon. Alhassan Suhuyini peddled blatant falsehood by saying that in December 2016 the then running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia tweeted that the NPP Party when voted into office will harness the resources of the country to develop Ghana ’without borrowing’.

Although other panelists on the show disclaimed this assertion and called for its disregard Mr. Suhuyini failed to accept guilt. Yet when challenged, Mr. Suhuyini failed to produce evidence to his claim but rather called for international IT experts to help him provide the evidence.

I wish to place on record to Mr. Suhuyini, his NDC cohorts and all those who take delight in communicating such falsehood that Dr. Bawumia never made any tweets or statements during the 2016 campaign period that the NPP government would never borrow if voted to power.

I am by this statement challenging Mr. Suhuyini or anyone who has evidence to the contrary to adduce same.

Dr. Bawumia and the government of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo still stand by the principle of responsible public expenditure financing through the optimal mix of tax revenues, borrowed funds, grants or any other sources useful to the development of the country.

Like the over 13 billion cedis borrowed to save the deposits of over 1.2 million customers of distressed banks and micro finance institutions, government will continue to exercise its discretion of borrowing insofar as it remains important, needful and permissible.

Government is however mindful of the need to ensure debt sustainability, judicious use of borrowed funds, and the productivity that must come with such funds. It is in the light of this that this government has taken the painstaking efforts to avert the mistakes of the past and passed the fiscal responsibility act to constrain government borrowing not to exceed a certain limit of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Politics is supposed to be a decent game and all actors therein must communicate with facts. I urge the media to constantly put everyone to strict proof for every claim made.

Thank you.

—— Signed ——

Dr. Gideon Boako

Spokesperson to the Vice President