Akufo-Addo passes begging bowl to the IMF: US Economist Professor Steve Hanke Thumbs Down Ghana's Economy

• Professor Steve Hanke has said Ghana was passing the begging bowl to the IMF in anticipation of more loans to run the country
• The US economist said Ghana's ongoing negotiations for an IMF bail out programme for the 18th time would fail
• Known for his unique way of calculating real inflation figures of countries, Prof Hanke also said Ghana's inflation for June 2022 was 50%, much higher than the official figure of 29.8%

US economics professor, Steve Hanke, has thumbed down Nana Akufo-Addo's handling of the economy, suggesting that the president was begging for the IMF for help.

He cited the decision to postpone the mid-term budget review this week as evidence that the president and his finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta were looking forward to a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

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Reports say the finance minister postponed the review until initial meetings with the IMF for an economic programme were completed.

Mr Ofori-Atta was scheduled to give an update on Ghana's first-half revenue and expenditure targets on Wednesday, July 13, but he pushed it to a later date this month.

Tweeting on Tuesday, Prof Hanke said Ghana was looking forward to an IMF loan:

"Pres. Akufo-Addo passes the begging bowl to the IMF. Ghana has even postponed its mid-term budget review in hopes of ANOTHER IMF loan. SPOILER ALERT: Like GHA's past 17 IMF programs, a new program won't work. Today, I measure Ghana's inflation at 50%/yr."

This is not the first time Prof Hanke has taunted Ghana over the country's economic challenges. Last week, he predicted that Ghana's IMF programme would fail.

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IMF concludes bail out visit to Ghana

YEN.com.gh reported previously that a team from the International Monetary Fund that arrived in Ghana to assess the economic situation and discuss a possible bail out deal has ended its mission.

The team led by Carlo Sdralevich visited Accra between July 6 and July 13, 2022, to, among other things, discuss Ghana’s Enhanced Domestic Programme that an IMF lending arrangement could support.

In a release dated Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the IMF team explains that during the meeting, it held discussions with Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ofori-Atta, and Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison.

The team also met with the Parliament’s Finance Committee, civil society organisations, and development partners, including UNICEF and the World Bank.

In the press statement, the IMF team leader, Mr Sdralevich noted that Ghana was facing a challenging economic and social situation amid an increasingly difficult global environment.

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“The fiscal and debt situation has severely worsened following the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, investors’ concerns have triggered credit rating downgrades, capital outflows, loss of external market access, and rising domestic borrowing costs,” he observed.

Source: YEN.com.gh