Governance Is Not About Borrowing - Prof. Baah Tells Gov't

The Head of the Political Science Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Richard Amoako Baah has described as unfortunate government�s reliance on loans as an austere measure to salvage the economy. According to him, �if you [government] are so much reliant on loans, it shows the weakness in government,� he stressed. Dr. Amoako Baah's comment comes after Parliament approved a 156 million dollar World Bank loan facility to finance the Ghana Secondary School Education Improvement Project. The loan will among other things be used to fund the construction of community Senior High Schools across the country, provide scholarships for students in deprived communities and the distribution of free sanitary pads to school girls. This has been met with stiff opposition with many questioning government�s priorities in accelerating the growth of the educational sector. But the Ministry of Education has justified its actions, insisting that the distribution of sanitary pads is to prevent school dropouts. But speaking on Asempa FM�s Ekosii Sen programme on Thursday, Prof. Amoako Baah said governance is not about contracting loans. He noted that �if left to borrowing alone, even Akua Donkor, the flagbearer of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), can be president�. The Political Science lecturer believes governments are voted in power to solve the bread and butter issues confronting Ghanaians and not to bedevil the nation with debts. He intimated that the Mahama-led administration has lost policy credibility that is why international credit agencies have downgraded Ghana. The Political Science lecturer feared government�s insatiable quest for loans will not only increase the debt stock but will also have an adverse effect on the economy. Prof. Amoako Baah urged government to quit the �firefighting� tactics of solving problems and find more practical ways to salvage the economy.