IMF Bailout: Isaac Adongo Doubts Ofori-Atta Would Get Ghana A Good Financial Programme

• An NDC Member of Parliament has cast doubt on Ghana's ability to secure a viable bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund
• Isaac Adongo has said Ghana is not likely to secure a good deal because Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta does not have the right competence to lead negotiations
• He has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to fire the minister and current officials at the Finance Ministry because they have failed their mandate

A financial management specialist affiliated with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cast doubt on Ken Ofori-Atta’s ability to negotiate a suitable International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal for Ghana.

According to the legislator for Bolgatanga Central, the finance minister has publicly stated his disagreement with an IMF programme. In the view of the MP, because the minister has held that an IMF deal was terrible for the country, he won’t do an excellent job for the country now that he has been directed to negotiate the deal.

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“They [Akufo-Addo-led government] has already started [negotiations with IMF] on a faulty leg. Asking Ken Ofori-Atta to begin negotiations is equivalent to telling the IMF that we don’t want a programme. Ken Ofori-Atta lacks the capacity and is not fit for this purpose,” he told journalists.

He also said Ghana could land a lousy deal because the current Ministry of Finance team is not competent.

“NPP is going to IMF at a time where they have no blueprint. Chances are that we are going to have…a programme from the perspective of the IMF and not from the perspective of the country,” Isaac Adongo said.

As ex-President John Mahama suggested recently, Mr Adongo has asked President Nana Akufo-Addo to fire Ken Ofori-Atta and his deputies because they performed poorly.

“The ministry of finance needs a complete upgrade in order that we may have a credible programme from the IMF,” the MP said.

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He stated that until the current team at the finance ministry is changed, the president is not committed to a viable Fund programme.

Top officials storm Ghana on July 6 to access Economy and decide suitable programme

YEN.com.gh has reported in a previous story that a high-powered delegation from the International Monetary Fund is expected in Ghana this week to access the government’s request for a bailout programme.

Sources say senior officers from the Fund and local staff will meet a team from Ghana’s Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, to begin negotiations with the government on the economic support it is seeking.

According to reports sighted by YEN.com.gh, the visit by the IMF team to Ghana would be heavy on the appropriate support to extend to Ghana’s troubled economy.

Source: YEN.com.gh