Former Deputy Minister of Energy John Jinapor has accused the Akufo-Addo-led government of using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to drain the country’s reserves and called on the government to prioritise its expenditure in order to protect the public purse.

This follows the recent announcement by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta that the central bank had decided to grant the government a GHS10 billion support.

Mr Ofori-Atta on Friday, 29 May 2020, in a statement presented to Parliament, confirmed the BoG’s decision to lend GHS10 billion to the government with a 2-year moratorium for 10 years.

The Governor of the central bank had earlier confirmed before the appearance of Mr Ofori-Atta in parliament that the first tranche, totalling GHS5.5 billion at the rate of 14.5 per cent, had been made to the government.

However, the former Deputy Minister has described the action by the central bank as “illegal and a clear violation” of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) Act.

In a write-up, Mr Jinapor noted: “The Akuffo-Addo led Government has certainly run out of ideas and hiding behind the COVID-19 pandemic to deplete our reserves including the Petroleum Funds.”

He further called on Parliament to “ensure that the Executive Arm of Government does not engage in reckless management of our financials, as we approach the 2020 elections.”

According to Mr Jinapor, “Rather than engaging in such wasteful and frivolous expenditures, the Akufo Addo/Bawumia Economic Management Team must prioritise expenditure in order to protect the national purse.

Current statistics reveal the country’s debt as a percentage of GDP is in excess of 60% with the IMF projecting a Debt-to-GDP of about 67% by the end of 2020.