Kumasi — DESPITE SEVERAL attempts by the government to justify the independence of the $300 million loan granted to Ghana by the World Bank, groups and individuals continue to cast aspersions over the autonomy of the deal.

Critics of the loan, which is expected to support the budget and also provide a breathing space for the government to enable it arrest the increasing fall of the local currency against the dollar, have been entertaining fears about the conditionalities and strings attached to the World Bank incentive, which they claim, have long term negative repercussions on the economy of Ghana.

The $300 million was ratified by Parliament last Tuesday after a heated debate in the house over the actual number in the house at the time the motion was moved for the approval of the loan.

But a pressure group, which calls itself Alliance for Youth in Action (AYA), has threatened to stage a massive demonstration against the government if the latter fails to review the conditionalities involved in the deal.

The group says it wants the government to take a second look at certain clauses in the agreement, particularly the one which compels the government to freeze public sector employment for at least two years.

Speaking on a local radio station, Angel 96.1FM, the spokesperson of AYA, Pius Enam Hadzide, stated that a research conducted by the group indicates that the clause, if implemented, would lead to about 100,000 job losses among the youth and graduate students.

He noted that the freeze on public sector employment would mean that the government would be compelled to suspend recruitment of staff into the sector, which workforce currently stands at about 600,000.

The replacement of staff into the sector can only take place for the dead and those who would be going on retirement.

The Spokesperson of AYA contends that the aftermath of the adoption of such a decision, if quantified in the long term, would be greater than the actual benefit that would be realized from the loan adding that it would lead to the creation of unemployment backlog resulting in the increase in graduate unemployment.

Enam Hadzide stated that the group initially planned to stage a demonstration to register their disapproval against the agreement in the course of the week but rescinded its decision to enable the government prepare towards the arrival of the US President Barrack Obama.

He, however, stated that AYA would embark on a nationwide sensitization workshop beginning next week, after which it would go ahead with the protest march to highlight certain aspects of the deal, which it believes would be suicidal to the country if adopted.

The pressure group has, therefore, called on associations such as the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and other social collations to put pressure on the government to review the conditionalities attached to the loan.