Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the finance minister, has stated that the government has no plans to renew or extend Ghana’s current arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The government is committed to completing the program to restore macroeconomic stability and promote sustainable growth, Dr. Forson said at a joint news conference with the IMF in Accra on Tuesday, April 15.
“Renegotiating assumes that you don’t think the program is good and that you want to have a discussion about other aspects of the program. The government does not hold that position. The government is dedicated to putting the IMF program into action in order to accomplish its goals,” he said.
Dr. Forson mentioned a number of steps to increase budget credibility, eliminate arrears buildup, strengthen spending controls, and improve fiscal and debt sustainability, acknowledging that several structural benchmarks and quantitative targets were overlooked before the present government.
These include commissioning an audit of payables and commitments with the help of international firms and amending the Procurement Act to require commitment authorization from the Finance Minister for all central government procurements. He also announced plans to launch a Public Financial Management (PFM) Commitment Control Compliance League Table to track and publish compliance levels of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) under the PFM Act.
Reconsider Reliance on IMF For Economic Support
However, the Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Atta Issah, has urged the government to reconsider its reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic support. His remarks come after a recent staff-level agreement between the IMF and Ghana, following the fourth review of the country’s three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program, which, if approved, will unlock approximately US$370 million in financial assistance.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, Mr. Issah, a member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, expressed concern over Ghana’s recurring engagement with the IMF. “I only urge that this should be the last time as a country we cede our sovereignty to external partners. We have the brains in this country. Why is it that for 17 times consecutively, every government in the last three decades has in one way or the other signed up to the IMF programme?” he questioned.
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