Concerns have been voiced by the Minority in Parliament regarding the government’s recent GH¢7 billion borrowing from the market for Treasury Bills to pay contractors beyond its budgetary allotment.

The Minority claims that the practice of going over budget for political reasons is aggravating the Cedi’s decline compared to the US dollar.

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the minority leader, criticized the government’s careless spending and advocated for budgetary restraint in remarks to reporters on Wednesday, May 15.

“They are on an expenditure spree, spending money as if there is no tomorrow. In the last few days, we are aware that they have paid approximately GH¢7 billion to contractors, off-budget contractors, off-budget expenditures, GH¢7 billion.

“They borrowed from the T-Bill market, so they borrowed the money from ordinary Ghanaians then they paid this money to these contractors, and the contractors are also not certain so they have engaged in currency substitution.

“The contractors got Cedis and went and changed it into US dollars and kept the money because of a lack of confidence in the economy.”