IMF bailout is not on the country’s agenda – Jubilee House

It appears the government will not resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial support in the face of the current fiscal hurdles.

Government for the past few months has reiterated the need for the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) to rake in internal revenue to address the current economic challenges.

Currently, government is holding a crunch cabinet meeting to find solutions to the raging economic challenges. The meeting, being held at the Peduase Lodge, will end on Sunday, March 20, 2022.

The deliberations are being chaired by President Akufo-Addo. It is being attended by all NPP MPs, ministers, government appointees, and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership.

In an apparent move to quell raging speculations of government considering resort to the IMF, the Jubilee House in a Facebook post on Friday, ruled out any such decision.

“An IMF Bailout is not on the country’s agenda as Cabinet considers home-grown solutions while it discusses fuel price hikes, reopening of borders and other main items,” the post read.

Meanwhile, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson has urged government to sign up for support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) immediately.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, he said the “government should take a decision that would preserve the bright prospects of this country.”

“The way the economy is being run, the levels of our debt, the rate at which inflation is going up, the rate at which our cedi is depreciating and we are losing so much reserves in a very short period of time. Clearly, everything points to an accident that is about to hit us as a country and I am urging the government to stop that accident by signing on to the IMF.” 

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is also on record to have indicated that government has no intention to go for any assistance from the IMF.

Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta stressed that the repercussion of seeking an IMF bailout will not be favourable for the country’s fortunes.

“Consequences are dire, we are a proud nation, we have the resources, we have the capacity. We are not people of short-sight, but we have to move on,” he said.

Source: myJoy