Don’t rely solely on IMF to solve your problems- Theo Acheampong to gov’t
An Economist and Political Risk Analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, has urged government not to bank all its hopes on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its quest to fix the struggling economy.
A team from the IMF has begun the second round of discussions with government on a bailout, with a focus on debt sustainability.
This is on the back of the downgrade of Ghana’s credit to ‘CCC’, from ‘CC’ by Fitch last week.
An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement.
The meeting with the IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-currency debt.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Theo Acheampong stressed the need for government to practice fiscal discipline, especially in the public sector.
“The IMF can only do so much for you, if you don’t fix your politics; how we appoint people to some of these state-owned enterprises and government organisations some of whom are causing serious haemorrhaging and financial loss to the state, those governance issues, it is not the IMF that will solve it for you. Yes, there are some safeguards that are being discussed, and I expect them to reflect in the IMF Programme,” he said.
Source: Ghana Business
