General News of Tuesday, 12 July 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-07-12Ghana ‘banked hope on delusions’ when it left the IMF programme in 2019 – Bright Simons
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons
'Ghana is back for intensive care at the IMF', Simons
Ghana goes to the IMF
IMF team arrives in Ghana
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has berated the government for its decision to leave the International Monetary (IMF) Fund programme started by its predecessor in 2015.
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According to him, the government left the IMF programme in 2019 even though it failed to attain the targets for the programme, backing its decision on delusions and not facts.
“Ghana is back for intensive care at the IMF ‘bcos’ [because] it refused to complete the last treatment course started in 2015. In 2019, when it was discharging itself: A. It asked for waivers on key symptomatic issues. B. Hadn't met any of the structural targets. C. Banked hope on delusions,” parts of a series of tweets shared by Bright Simons read.
He further stated that the government must understand that its latest call on the IMF for a bailout will come at a cost because it will not be allowed to borrow to implement its programmes and policies for months.
“… Ghana needs to understand it is now going for surgery not fever relief. That is 3 years of not being allowed to borrow as it pleases. Only 34 countries in the world are going through such intensive care, 5 in 2022. Surgery is not to be taken lightly,” he added.
Meanwhile, a team from the IMF arrived in Ghana on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, to commence discussions with the government of Ghana over the $2 billion bailout, the government is seeking from the fund.
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has also postponed the presentation of Ghana’s 2022 Mid-year Budget Review due to the ongoing negotiations with the IMF.
Read the tweets by the IMANI Vice President below:
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