The 2012 Presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has expressed doubts over government’s ability to strictly adhere to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.
He argued that the country’s track record regarding the strict adherence to IMF programmes was not encouraging.
He recalled that in the past, Ghana “went there, we made promises, they gave us money and once we got the money, we were happy and we didn’t do what was required and after a while, the situation went bad again.”
International rating agency, Fitch, has also expressed similar concerns saying given Ghana’s track record, it does not trust the country can follow the IMF final programme.
Speaking to Citi News after the swearing in of new PPP executive members for the Central Region, Dr Nduom said if the government did not exercise strict discipline, Ghana would crawl back to the IMF for another bailout in the coming years.
The 2012 PPP presidential candidate said despite all the promises made by the government to the IMF, “once the funds are made available, mismanagement will set in, and we will be driven back to the IMF.”
The IMF, together with government officials, is drawing up a three-year programme to revive Ghana’s economy using the government’s home-grown policies.
President John Mahama, on Sunday, expressed the hope that this would be the last time Ghana would seek a bailout from the IMF.
During his visit to the United States, where he attended the 69th United Nations General Assembly, President Mahama promised that this bailout would be guided by past experiences to prevent the repetition of avoidable mistakes.
The IMF has already announced some targeted areas which will be tackled throughout the programme, including the energy and public sectors.
Besides the structural reforms, the IMF has proposed to financially support Ghana to help boost her economic growth.
Experts and some industry players are certain the bailout programme is the way to go while some politicians have kicked against the move, stating that citizens will be burdened with more economic hardships.
