NDC Will Win This 2024 Election Hands Down – Honourable Eric Opoku

Honourable Eric Opoku, a former Ashanti Regional Minister, current Member of Parliament for Asunafo South, and Ranking Member on Agriculture for the NDC, has expressed confidence in his party’s chances in the upcoming elections.

Speaking on the Kessben Television’s Election Avenue, he shared his perspective on Ghana’s political and economic situation.

“When President Akufo-Addo was campaigning during his election, he said, ‘Check your living conditions and vote the right way.’He stated:

Today, even before NDC members go out to campaign, people are already discussing the realities on the ground, and everything points to an NDC victory.”

Honourable Opoku emphasized that Ghana’s economy forms the backbone of the nation, as it influences critical sectors like roads, education, job creation, and agriculture. And stated clearly that financial planning determines whether a government is steering the country toward progress or destruction.

When the NDC lost the 2016 election, and President Mahama handed over power to President Akufo-Addo on January 7, 2017. At that time, Ghana’s debt, from independence on March 6, 1957, to January 2017, stood at GHS 122 billion. And this has been all the debt Ghana had from Kwame Nkrumah’s era to Mahama’s administration.

But now, since 2017, under President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia, the debt has skyrocketed.

As of September 27, 2024, the Finance Minister and the Bank of Ghana reported that Ghana’s debt now stands at GHS 761 billion. This means that in just seven years, the NPP government has added GHS 640 billion to the debt. No government in Ghana’s history has borrowed at this rate.

The NPP’s debt has greatly exceeded the combined debt of all previous administrations, leading to severe consequences.

Now, none of the international lenders, where most countries go for loans, are willing to lend to Ghana. Furthermore, due to the debt crisis, Ghana approached the IMF for assistance. However, the international community demanded significant action on the debt before granting any help. This led the government to initiate a debt exchange program.

This is what the ‘debt exchange program’ means, said Honourable Opoku.
“We can’t pay our debt, so we have scheduled it forward”.

The debt Ghana owes has been pushed to 2037, meaning our children and grandchildren will inherit this burden.

Ghanaians who also lent money to the government were told that the agreed-upon interest could not be paid and has been postponed.

International creditors, including China, were also approached, but China only agreed to defer payments for two years, until 2026. If Ghana cannot repay the $1.9 billion owed to China by then, China has the right to seize Ghanaian assets.”

He elaborated that Ghana’s electricity revenue, light bills, and mineral resources such as gold and bauxite were used as collateral for the loans.

The IMF recently highlighted this risk, stating, “China is likely to seize Ghana’s mineral and electricity revenue over loan defaults.”

Honourable Opoku concluded with a thought-provoking question for voters:
“Given this debt crisis, do you believe the same leaders who wore ties and borrowed irresponsibly can go back to the international community, claim credibility, and secure help for Ghana? What assurance do we have that they can fix this mess?”