Ghana is losing its respect due to over reliance on foreign aid to service the ailing economy, according to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) vice presidential candidate said the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout “should be Ghana’s last.”

Ghana is currently enjoying a $918 million bailout from the Bretton Woods institution over a three-year period as the John Mahama-led administration weighs options to salvage the economy.

Dr Bawumia said the young oil-producing West African country must stop begging because it has a lot of resources to be self-reliant.

“In the present circumstances, an NPP government would as a matter of policy and urgency, significantly cut down on borrowing. The focus of the Government would be to provide the incentives for the private sector to do what the public sector is trying to do,” Dr Bawumia told the media on Wednesday.

He said: “As a matter of policy, Ghana should move away from aid dependency. For how long are we going to be beggars? Beggars have no respect. If we manage our resources properly, we would not have to rely on foreign aid. We will depend on ourselves through sound policies, fiscal discipline, trade and investment promotion.

“With sound economic policies, we can do it ourselves. The current IMF program should be Ghana’s last.”