President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has taken a swipe at his critics over the ongoing negotiations by his government to secure an enhanced domestic programme (EDP) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the country.
The programme is expected to repair, in the short term, the defects of the 2022 budget, which is said to have been thrown out of gear owing to the global economic crises occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Some critics, notably economist Kwame Pianim, have taken on the government about its commitment to the negotiations, claiming they are not going well.
“The IMF negotiation is not going well [and] I know this for a fact,” Mr Pianim had stated last week in an interview with TV3‘s Paa Kwesi Asare.
He called for the sacking of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, whom he described as without credibility to lead negotiations with the Fund, precisely because he did not support the idea of going there in the early stages.
“What the IMF is waiting for is a bold, credible pronouncement from the president as he did over the Covid.”
The latter the President did on Sunday, October 30 but during his national broadcast, he stated emphatically that the negotiations are going well.
“I am able to report to you, my fellow Ghanaians, that the negotiations to secure a strong IMF Programme, which will support the implementation of our Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth and additional funding to support the 2023 Budget and development programme, are at advanced stages, and are going well.”
President Akufo-Addo assured that when a deal is hopefully reached by the end of the year, his government’s economic measures will be further given credence.
“I urge us all to see the decision to go to the International Monetary Fund in this light.
“We have gone to the Fund to repair, in the short term, our public finances, and restore our balance of payments, whilst we continue to work on the medium to long-term structural changes that are at the heart of our goal of constructing a resilient, robust Ghanaian economy, and building a Ghana Beyond Aid.”