John Kumah, a Deputy Minister for Finance has disclosed in interview with Omanhene Yaw Adu-Boakye on Sompa Tv that going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout is far out of the plans of the government. He said the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has instituted some measures meant to ameliorate the current economic challenges.
Based on this, he said, won’t necessitate contacting the IMF for reprieve. "even though he is not ruling out the possibilities" he said on Ade Akye Abia.
“Government has resolved to take necessary and tough measures to restore and sustain macro stability as well as promote credibility and investor confidence through the implementation of government’s fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability measures. We will continue to collaborate to the fund as we stabilize the economy for a strong economy and revitalization. As we speak, Ghana is not going to the IMF, but we also want to make it clear that we will continue to work with the Fund for fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability”, he said.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has reiterated government’s decision not to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, despite Ghana’s current economic challenges.
He said the government is confident in its homegrown solutions in getting the economy to recover, adding that government will keep introducing more measures to raise revenue domestically to sustain the economy.
He however said Ghana continues to enjoy the technical support and advice received from the IMF.
“We are members of the fund [IMF] and there are two major points of intervention that we have from the Fund. One is the advice that we get and these programme interventions which bring us some resources. If you see from the budget that we constructed for 2022 and the subsequent announces we’ve done, clearly the issue of Ghana having the capacity to think through the consolidation exercises and also disciplining itself with regard to the 20% to 30% [expenditure] cut that we have shown clearly is a direction that I guess even in a sense, the fund may be hesitant to push any further,” he said.
Source.......www.sompaonline.com/Eric Murphy Asare