The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr John Kwakye has said he was surprised at the decision by the government to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance.
Dr Kwakye who earlier advised the government against going to the IMF said the managers of the economy were not prepared to take some tough decisions on its own to resolve the economic challenges.
He told Eric Mawuena Egbeta on the Hot Edition on 3FM Friday July 1 that “I had indicated that we didn’t need to go to the IMF because I know if we go to the IMF, I know the kind of policies that they will prescribe for you. I have worked in the IMF for 10 years and therefore, I thought that if we could do the same things that they will prescribe for us, then maybe there was no need to go to the IMF, that is the position that I had taken.
“[So] the decision came to some of us as a surprise but I must also say that I was expecting that if you don’t want to go to the IMF then you have to take some very tough decisions.
“It looks like we are in the position where the government feels like they have lost the trust of the market. To regain that trust, it is not easy so maybe they have decided that the best way to regain the trust of the market is to go to the IMF because everybody trust the IMF, they know that they will discipline you if you have a programme with them and all that. So maybe, that is why they decided to go, they were not prepared to take those very tough decisions themselves.”
President Akufo-Addo gave the instruction to Mr Ofori-Atta to commence the engagements with the IMF on Friday July 1 following a telephone conversation between the President and the IMF Managing Director, Miss Kristalina Georgieva, conveying Ghana’s decision to engage with the Fund.
The Ministry of Information announced this in a statement on Friday July 1.
A Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr John Kumah said an IMF programme would help the country to come out from the economic challenges faster.
He said the government hopes that the programme will benefit the country.
“Our objective as government is to restore confidence in the economy and rebound it from the difficulty, from the challenges, not only in Ghana but almost all economies around the world.
“We believe that where we stand now, an IMF intervention will help us come out quicker than we could. We hope that it will benefit the country,” he told TV3’s Komla Adom on the mid day news on Friday July 1.
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS