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Executive Director of Danquah Institute, Richard Ahiagbah says the opposition NDC will need a whopping  GH¢119.7 billion to fund their manifesto if they emerge winners in the 2020 upcoming elections.

He revealed that a total of GH¢29.9 billion would be spent by the NDC to sustain their policies.

Addressing  the media on Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at Danquah Institute, Mr. Ahiagbah said “our composite analysis based on available data reveals that the NDC will need a total of GH¢119,681,028,960 (approximately GH¢119.7 billion) to fund their manifesto promises over the next four years should they win the 2020 elections...This amounts to GH¢29.9 billion per year”.

He noted that this is not achievable as the NDC would have to resort to borrowing and increasing taxes to run the country.

“Ghana’s projected annual total revenue (domestic revenues and grants) required to sustain the economy over the next three years (2021 – 2023) including the servicing of debts and the funding of flagship policies such as Free SHS, 1D1F and Planting for Food and Jobs is estimated to GH¢83.5billion. In view of the foregoing assessment to raise the GH¢29.9 billion annually to fund its manifesto promises, the NDC has 3 options. These are increased taxes, increased borrowing, scrap existing flagship programmes to create fiscal space.”

The country would plunge into destruction if there are no proper financing mechanisms to fund the NDC's manifestos, the Danquah Institute boss added.

“It is our considered view that the implementation of the NDC’s manifesto without proper financing mechanisms would occasion an economic crisis worse than what we experienced under the Mahama-led administration. It will plunge the nation back into the abyss of 'dumsor' and lead to the scrapping of popular programmes such as the free SHS as well as the abolishment of the nursing and teacher trainee allowances", he claimed.

Read full statement below:

Our composite analysis based on available data reveals that the NDC will need a total of GH¢119,681,028,960 (approx. GH¢ 119.7 bn) to fund their manifesto promises over the next four years should they win the 2020 elections. This amounts to an average of GH¢29,920,257,240 (approx. GH¢ 29.9 bn) per year.

However, Ghana’s projected annual total revenue (domestic revenues and grants) required to sustain the economy over the next three years (2021-2023) including the servicing of debts and the funding of flagship policies such as Free SHS, 1D1F, and Planting for Food and Jobs is estimated at GH¢83, 454,253,434 (approx. GH¢ 83.5 bn). In view of the foregoing assessment, to raise GH¢29,920,257,240 (approx. GH¢ 30 bn) annually to fund its manifesto promises, the NDC has three options. These are:

Increase taxes
Increase borrowing 
Scrap existing flagship programmes to create fiscal space
None of these options, however, would be beneficial to Ghana particularly when the country is yet to fully recover from the global economic crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing taxes would worsen the socioeconomic plight of Ghanaians whereas an increase in borrowing would lead to a ballooning of Ghana’s debts to unsustainable levels which would eventually collapse the economy.

Again, should a future NDC government judiciously dedicate GH¢29,920,257,240 (approx. GH¢ 30 bn) of the projected annual revenue of GH¢83,454,253,434 (approx. GH¢ 83.4 bn) towards the implementation of its manifesto promises, it will be left with GH¢53,533,996,194 (approx. GH¢ 54 bn) to sustain the economy.

This amount would be inadequate to sustain flagship programmes started by the NPP government such as the Free SHS, 1D1F, and Planting for Food and Jobs and servicing both external and domestic debts, particularly, within the energy sector. As a result, it will be impossible for the NDC to implement its manifesto promises without scraping existing flagship programmes, especially, the Free SHS.

It is our considered view that the implementation of the NDC’s manifesto without proper financing mechanisms would occasion an economic crisis worse than what was experienced under the Mahama-led administration. It will plunge the nation back into the abyss of Dumsor and lead to the scrapping of popular programmes such as the free SHS as well as the abolishment of the nursing and teacher trainee allowances.