Gov’t spends GHc6.5b weekly on your T-bills debt – Adongo to Boako

Bolgatanga Central Member of Parliament (MP) Isaac Adongo has revealed that the government is currently spending GHS 6.5 billion every week to service debt, dismissing claims that the new administration is borrowing excessively.

The spokesperson for former Vice President and Tano North MP, Dr. Gideon Boako, had alleged that the Mahama-led administration had engaged in excessive borrowing, having borrowed GHS 67 billion from the Treasury bill (T-bill) market within just two months.

But speaking on GHOne TV’s State of Affairs, Isaac Adongo hit back at Dr. Gideon Boako, asserting the borrowing was to clean the mess of the NPP.

“We are paying off GHS 6.5 billion every week just to clear their mess and yet, the same people who created this crisis have the audacity to lecture us on borrowing!” Adongo stated.

Adongo dismissed the opposition’s panic over borrowing, saying they should be grateful that the Mahama government is cleaning up the economic mess left behind.

“This man is just tabulating all his mess that we are clearing and putting them together to make it look so scary!”, he further asserted.

Isaac Adongo also explained the difference between gross financing and net financing, accusing Boako of misleading the public.

“What they are quoting is what we call gross financing needs. Even if I borrow money every month to pay off previous debts, they add it all together and make it look scary. But on a net basis, we are not accumulating new debt—we are just paying off what they left behind.”, he explained.

He further added that investor confidence has returned under the Mahama administration, unlike in previous months when Treasury auctions failed to attract enough buyers.

“For 16 weeks, Ghanaians were so scared of this government that they were not willing to give them the amount of money they were asking for. So when you go to the market asking for GHS 8 billion and they give you GHS 6 billion, the GHS 2 billion they refused to give you—we call it uncovered auctions. For 16 weeks, they were getting uncovered auctions.”

“We came. Every week, they bring us money that we say we don’t need, because of the confidence and trust in this government.”

To further demonstrate responsible borrowing, Adongo pointed out that the government is selectively picking only what it needs from Treasury bill auctions, instead of taking all available offers.

“That is why today you saw that we did a settlement where 18 billion was given to us even though we were looking for less than that. We were looking for just about 7 billion, but they came and gave us 18 billion.”

This, he explained, proves that the government is not borrowing recklessly but managing debt strategically.

Interest rates on treasury bills have fallen to their lowest in over two years; the 91-day Treasury bill rate, which was 28.51% on January 6, 2025, has fallen to 20.79% as of March 3, 2025. Similarly, the 182-day Treasury bill rate dropped from 29.07% to 22.99%, while the 364-day T-bill rate decreased from 30.41% to 22.70%.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson at the opening of the National Economic Dialogue, announced that Ghana has saved GHS 1 billion due to a reduction in T-bill rates.

Source: Starrfm.com.gh