Gabby: Government is not going to IMF because of fiscal indiscipline
The comment by Gabby Otchere-Darko comes after President Akufo-Addo authorised the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to start negotiating formally with the IMF for a bailout to support Ghana through the economic crisis
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a political strategist and prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said that the government’s decision to opt for an International Monetary Fund programme cannot be attributed to fiscal indiscipline.
Otchere-Darko’s comment comes after President Akufo-Addo authorised the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to open formal negotiations with the IMF for bailout to support Ghana through the economic crisis.
Speaking with Kofi Abotsi on TownHall Talk on Asaase Radio on Friday (1 July 2022), Otchere-Darko said, “I do not think that this government is heading to the IMF because of a lack of discipline … We are in very unusual circumstances that have perhaps never hit the world before, which has necessitated these measures.
“I think going to the IMF is not an issue of tying the hands of the next government, but you want a situation where you don’t put the next government in a situation that’s worse than what you met,” Otchere-Darko said.
He added: “It will be difficult for the NDC to say that they went to the IMF in 2016 and we are now heading there and so we have managed the economy similarly.”
Watch the full interview below:
Start negotiating formally with IMF now
President Akufo-Addo has authorised the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to commence formal engagements with the IMF.
A statement signed by the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, that was published on Friday said: “This follows a telephone conservation between the president and the IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, conveying Ghana’s decision to engage with the Fund.
“The engagement with the IMF will seek to provide balance-of-payments support as part of a broader effort to quicken Ghana’s build-back in the face of challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and, recently, the Russia-Ukraine crises [sic],” the statement added.
Fred Dzakpata
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