‘IMF programme does not guarantee our problems will disappear’ – Economist
An economist and Finance Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Godfred Bokpin has said that merely subscribing to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme will not guarantee that out problems as a country will disappear.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, he said, “Inbuilt in the programme will be work. In built-in that programme will be a painful fiscal adjustment that we will have to go through in the next two to three years.”
According to him, the worst moment is yet to happen with regard to the cedi depreciation although Ghana is in talks with the IMF for a programme.
He added that although there are negotiations in place to secure a deal, it does not “look like the programme will be in place before the 2023 budget will be presented.”
This follows an International Monetary Fund staff-level agreement expected to be reached with Ghana this week for a possible 3 billion dollar bailout.
Details of the agreement are expected to form the basis for Ghana’s 2023 budget to be presented in the middle of November.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta who is leading the Ghana team in negotiations with the IMF in Washington DC, is optimistic the agreement will offer Ghana the opportunity to access the funds early next year.
“The discussions with the fund are going very well, what we intended to do is to get us [Ghana] close to a staff-level agreement as possible so that we can incorporate all of our decisions, most of them, into the budget so there will be no reversal and therefore by year-end, the board will approve,” he said.
But Prof Bokpin said that it will be “challenging” for the government to achieve this. He agreed however, that the government may at best reach a staff-level agreement with the Fund.
He explained that a lot of processes have to be completed before a deal could be reached.
Meanwhile, government has said it will fast-track negotiations with the IMF to ensure key aspects of the programme are reflected in the 2023 budget statement.
Source: Ghana News
