THE Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) has cautioned the Kufuor administration to avoid the situation in which foreign loans ? will become a millstone around the neck of the country? and stifle her initiative to reconstruct the economy.

?The Kufuor administration must learn lessons from the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government which contracted huge foreign loans which have had obnoxious consequences on the economy and the living conditions of the country,? the party said.

The leader of the party, Comrade Dan Lartey said this at a national executive meeting of the party in Accra yesterday. He said since loans contracted from multilateral financial sources are not for free but would be paid back in the near future, the Kufuor administration should be circumspect in contracting such loans whose payment will be shouldered by future governments. Comrade Lartey said even though the country, being a member of international financial agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, is legally qualified to source funds from such bodies, care must be taken to ensure that she is not saddled with more debts. ? Debt has become a noose which is strangling us to death and the earlier we devised measures to generate sources locally for our well-being , the better it would be for the country?s future,? the GCPP leader said.

He suggested to the Kufuor administration to explore additional measures to mobilise internal resources to reduce the country?s over-dependence on donor assistance.

Comrade Lartey said there still exist loopholes in the tax system which must be plugged by the agencies under the Finance Ministry to ensure that the country reaps substantial funds to facilitate the development of the rural areas , which he said lack the basic necessities of life.

The GCPP leader commended Parliament for its exhaustive scrutiny of the loan being contracted by the government from the International Financial Consortium (IFC) to provide more amenities for the people.