Dr Kofi Amoah and Sir Sam Jonah
For the last couple of month business mogul, Dr Kofi Amoah has been championing an agenda to have the country stop borrowing for consumption. He currently has a loan petition up and running on social media where he is calling on well-meaning Ghanaians to sign and impress on the government to stop the excessive borrowing.
That fight by Dr Amoah dubbed “Ghana Beyond Debt’ seemed lonely at times but over the weekend another senior citizen, Sir Sam Jonah also waded into the conversation after speaking loudly on the country’s rising debt stock, despondency, joblessness and a plethora of other issues confronting the nation.
Taking to his social media on Sunday, April 25 Dr Amoah said: “The obvious thing to do, when it seems you’re the only lone voice out there, is to give up! Kudos to Sir Sam Jonah for adding his eminent voice to Ghana’s enormous Debt that’s choking our present and future but citizens seem not to care.”
Dr Amoah’s message has been simple all the while. He insists that with no clear plan borrowing only cripples a country’s economy and future.
He said, “Ghana Awake, a new slogan that we must ponder deeply, n replace with a mindset for progress ought to be: GHANA BEYOND DEBT, RETHINK! We will set up a money system that will shut them down forever, keeping them and their children in debt ~ Rockefeller.”
Dr Amoah’s concerns were carried by Sir Sam Jonah who delivered a speech at the Rotary Club over the weekend.
In a speech titled ‘Sam Jonah: Down the up escalator – Reflections on Ghana’s future by a senior citizen”, the mining tycoon said he feared for the future of this country because of the joblessness that abounds. He stated, “ I am afraid that unless there are clear plans to ensure that the economy creates jobs a sense of hopelessness and helplessness will be the lot of our children and grandchildren. The debt will suffocate them. This is what concerns me.”
He continued, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the inevitable conclusion from all of this is that the sustainability of our current sources of revenue is under threat. We are borrowing huge sums of money for our children and grandchildren to pay yet we are not seeing realistic strategies that assure us of our capacity to pay back. How are the 30-year, 40-year bonds going to be paid?”
Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, is the Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, South Africa