Our loans will deliver returns — Tekper

The Minister for Finance, Mr Seth Tekper has explained that most of the loans contracted by the government for projects are self-financing that will deliver returns to offset those credit facilities from the loan books.

He said unlike some previous projects, the current projects would not put financial burden on central government,  because they would generate the needed funds for maintenance and repayment of the loans.

The minister was addressing the National House of Chiefs  in Kumasi last Tuesday, on the state of the nation’s economy.

The interaction was part of activities by the ministry  to keep the chiefs and other opinion leaders informed on recent economic developments.

The minister said the government had  instituted policies aimed at  reducing waste and loopholes that were affecting the economy.

Economic challenges

Mr Tekper said although the economy had gone through challenges owing to the reduction of prices of the country’s major traditional exports such as cocoa and oil, prudent measures had been put place to further grow the economy.

He announced that among the measures put in place to help improve the economy was the strengthening of the agricultural sector so it could provide enough raw materials to feed many of the rural and other industries.

The president of the House, Naa Prof John S. Nabila called on chiefs in the country to support the efforts of the government to come out with good policies and programmes that would help in the development of the country since development was the responsibility of all citizens.

The president urged the chiefs to educate their subjects on the role of taxation in national development and encourage them to meet their tax obligation, adding that the chiefs could facilitate tax collection by disseminating information to reach all in their traditional areas.

Prof Nabila commended the government for widening the tax net to cover many individuals and corporate bodies by passing the income tax act 2015, act 896.

The president appealed the government to help in the completion of the national house of chiefs headquarters project which started in 2006 which had stalled due to lack of funds.

Prof Nabila urged the chiefs to mindful of their speeched when they get the platform to speak, adding that there was the need for them to be circumspect and welcome any political party during the election campaign.