‘I am against an IMF programme that will hurt the poor’ – Gabby

Co-founder of Danquah Institute, a think tank linked to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has said although he backs calls for the government to seek economic support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he is against a programme that will worsen the plight of the poor.

Mr. Otchere-Darko believes that any move or plan by the government to go to the IMF for a programme would be a matter of principle.

“Am I against an IMF programme in principle? No. I am not for an IMF programme that throws peanuts at us but imposes conditions that will end up hurting the poor, jobs and businesses more.

“Covid-19 and War in Ukraine are not of Africa’s doing, but more to our doom. A programme that pretends it is all our doing is doomed to fail,” he tweeted on Monday, June 27″, Gabby, as he is affectionately called said in a series of tweets Monday.

The political strategist said although the current economic difficulties faced by Ghana and other African countries are driven by external factors, the government is focused on implementing measures that will address them.

“We do something that will inject confidence in our capacity to ride this heavy storm and that something should happen pretty quickly.

“Are you against an IMF programme?” he asked.

He further tweeted that “If our programmes fail us and we are not able to get the confidence and the results in the fiscal space discipline, which we have to impose on ourselves, then we don’t have a choice”.

The government has been adamant in seeking financial support from the IMF, but comments by a Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. John Kumah, presuppose the government might consider returning to the Bretton Wood for financial support to save the economy from complications.

According to him, an IMF programme will be pursued if needed.

“If it [bringing the economy back to life] becomes impossible, then it is the only alternative to salvage our economy. But where we are now, we think we are in the position to salvage the economy or to try the homegrown policy we are adopting,” Kumah was quoted by JoyNews as saying.

Also, an Associate Professor of Finance at Andrews University in the United States, Dr Williams Kwasi Peprah, has said time is running out for the government on seeking support.
He based his argument on the fact that the country’s net reserves have declined drastically to $4.672 billion in April, 2022 from $6.09 billion in January, 2022.

“As a country, we have to be thinking of going back to IMF to seek support in terms of getting foreign currencies to shore up our depleting gross international reserves and also our foreign currency reserves.

“So, if you look at the issues as the BDCs request for foreign currency, whereby the Central Bank is only giving them 22% of the $450 million required, it’s serious.”

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES