The Economic Advisor to the Vice President, Dr. Gideon Boako, has stepped in to allay concerns raised by Ghanaians in relation to government’s decision to enter into a $2 billion Bauxite for Infrastructure barter arrangement with the Sinohydro Corporation of China.
According to him, government followed a rigorous process for due diligence to ensure the country’s resources is being used responsibly. He said there is no need to be worried over the deal because it will to a larger extent benefit the people of Ghana as it seeks to bring developmental projects to the land.
The government is facing stiff opposition from the minority in parliament regarding the Sinohydro deal as they’ve accused government of being insincere about its account of the deal.
In a statement, ranking member of Parliament’s finance committee and Minority spokesperson on finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, said that the agreement put before the House is inconsistent with what Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced during the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review in July.
But Dr. Boako has insisted that notwithstanding the barrage of criticisms against the deal, the government is on course in delivering unprecedented development for the nation through this deal.
He dismissed suggestions that the Nana Akufo-Addo government had sold Ghana’s bauxite to China for $2 billion.
“President Akufo-Addo put before the Chinese government that he needs some money for some developmental projects, we presented our project portfolio which showed how the President wants to develop the country.
“We told them we need money to construct roads, interchanges, some for building schools, hospitals, rural electrification and a host of other things but as at now, the government of Ghana does not have the money to start those projects”, he told Kweku Owusu Adjei on Anopa Kasapa.
He reiterated that this arrangement seeks to leverage a fraction of Ghana’s bauxite resources to address the infrastructure challenges, and will provide a wide variety of projects including hospitals, bridges, interchanges, roads, affordable housing, rural electrification, and many others in line with government’s development agenda.
By: Alex Semordzi
