IMF Bailout: Bright Simons Says Akufo-Addo Government Struggling To Get Second Release Of Funds
- It has emerged that Nana Akufo-Addo's administration is facing an uphill task to secure the second tranche of the $3 billion IMF bailout cash
- Bright Simons of IMANI has disclosed that the government is struggling to convince the IMF to sign off on the $600 million
- His comments follow the response by BoG Governor Dr Ernest Addison that described MPs taking part in the OccupyBoG protests as hooligans
- In an exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh, the founding president of think tank IMANI Centre for Policy and Education said the comments by Dr Addison are in poor taste
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One of the top analysts at the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education Bright Simons has disclosed that the Nana Akufo-Addo administration is having a tough time convincing the IMF to release the second tranche of the bailout cash.
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Simons took to X, formerly Twitter, to make the revelation following the Bank of Ghana governor's recent comment that MPs who took part in the OccupyBoG demonstration "behaved like hooligans."
Source: UGC
He said the timing of the comments, which have been widely condemned, is bad for the government's efforts to get a fast release of the funds.
"The spat of words btwn Ghana's Central Bank governor & Opposition MPs (he calls them "hooligans") couldn't have come at a worse time. With govt struggling to convince the IMF to sign-off on the $600m tranche before they leave town rather than later in DC, such scenes don't help," he wrote in a post on October 5, 2023.
Reactions to the revelation have been varied.
"From the story I read from City FM, he never used the word, 'hooligans'".
@adorndkd also criticised Addison's reaction:
"Addison's attitude is disgusting. Calling Opposition party “hooligans” protesting against illegal currency printing leading to negative of 60BL gh.Cedi on Central Bank &gov’t debt write-off unfortunate..!!"
@YesuHoliq felt the BoG governor made his emotions get the better of him:
"This is what happens when emotions override logic."
On Tuesday, October 3, thousands of Ghanaians clad in red and black and chanting war songs marched towards the Bank of Ghana headquarters in Accra as part of a mammoth protest dubbed OccupyBoG.
The demonstration, attended by Minority MPs, was partly triggered by BoG's huge loss of GH¢60.81 billion in 2022, a loss that has been described as unprecedented in Ghana's history.
Dr Addison compares protesting NDC MPs to hooligans
The BoG Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, responded forcefully to the recently held OccupyBoG demonstration.
According to him, MPs who took part in the protests behaved like hooligans because there were better ways they could have dealt with their concerns.
He also stated that the call for him to step down as central bank governor is untenable because that is not happening.
However, the founding president of IMANI, Franklin Cudjoe, told YEN.com.gh in an exclusive interview that Dr Addison's reaction to the demonstration smacks of arrogance.
"It is better to allow them rather than to prevent them. The demonstration was very necessary and very useful. Every democracy must allow diversity and indeed the ways to express them are also to be respected as long as they are safe.
"Without a doubt, there has been a r*ping of monetary policy. The Bank of Ghana adopted a very reckless approach to finance a very reckless financial arrangement. In fact, it is financial recklessness which is founded by monetary recklessness," he said.
NDC MPs criticise Addison for snubbing them during the demo
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a related story that the Minority in Parliament accused Bank of Ghana governor Ernest Addison of disrespect.
Addison did not show up to meet the Minority Members of Parliament planning to petition at his office.
The Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George, called the governor a coward because of his absence.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
