Senior Lecturer at Ashesi University and Afro-Chinese Relations expert, Dr. Lloyd Amoah has said Ghana is a big loser in the US$3billion Chinese Development Bank (CDB) deal.
“Using the Jubilee Oil Field as collateral for the loan should not have happened in the first place because that move collided with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, Act 815, 2011” he said.
Dr. Lloyd Amoah made this statement in an interview with Afia Pokua on Burning Issues.
The loan conditions also require that Ghana begins repayment ahead of the full advancement of the loan.
As a result, the Chinese has so far advanced US$600million out of the proposed US$3billion, and Ghana has already put US$72million into an escrow account as part of the repayment condition under the loan agreement.
In the agreement, Ghana will be supplying China 13,000 barrels of crude oil daily, which is the share of Ghana's oil in the Jubilee Field.
The Ghanaian Parliament gave its assent to the agreement in February 2012 under the leadership of the then Deputy Speaker and now Speaker, Right Honorable Edward Doe Adjaho.
Dr. Amoah said Ghana identified some lapses in the deal after signing it and has so far paid about $292,000 as administrative expenses for the amendment.
He however noted that in spite of the down side of the loan agreement, Ghana stands to benefit if the loan is acquired and put to good use.
Asked whether Ghana should take any legal action in the international court, he said Ghanaians must rather pressurize the government to ensure that all of the US$3billion arrives as promised.
Meanwhile, MP for New Juaben South Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah disagreed with the assertion that Parliament supervised a deal that has landed Ghana in a ditch.
He argued that the benefits were overwhelming, but admitted that there were excesses such as the US$25million the country would pay this year despite the fact that the Chinese have advanced on US$600million so far.
Dr. Assibey Yeboah therefore called for renegotiation of the deal to clear some excesses.
Former Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament and former MP for Sege, Alfred Abayete saw nothing wrong with the loan but was concerned about those who would work with the money and the possibility of embezzlement.
An expert in China-Ghana Relations, Prof. Adams Andrew Adjei, currently lecturers in China said the Chinese have not respect for African so he was surprised Ghana entered into a loan agreement with China.
He cautioned that the Chinese will not forgive the loan even if Ghana ran into problems so Ghana should be circumspect that extent to which they relate with the Chinese.
Story by:Kwame Yankah
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