Ofori-Atta: Finance Committee Member Hints IMF Does Not Want Finance Minister Leading Bailout Deal

• A member of Parliament's Finance Committee has alleged that the IMF is not happy Ofori-Atta is leading bailout negotiations
• Ernest Norgbey, Minority MP for Ashaiman said Ofori-Atta's earlier unfavourable comments about a possible bailout for Ghana is among the reasons the IMF team would prefer a different lead negotiator for the country
• Mr Norgbey alleged that the finance minister has misreported the country's financial position for so long the IMF officials don't consider him credible

A member of Parliament’s Finance Committee has hinted that officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are not comfortable with Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta leading bailout negotiations.

Ernest Norgbey, Minority MP for Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, said Monday, July 25, 2022, that Ghana would likely access a deal with the international money lender well after 12 months if the minister leads the negotiations.

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The Minority MP cited alleged financial misreporting by Mr Ofori-Atta and his anti-IMF comments in the past as some of the reasons the officials do not want to deal with him.

Mr Norgbe told Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV that some Majority members are calling on the finance minister to step down because they know this.

“There are real facts and IMF is finding it difficult to negotiate with the man because they have seen his traces from 2017 to date, they have gone through the books and they know exactly where monies have gone to and so if it is this man, who was on Radio and Television [that] ‘we will not go to IMF because we can do it our own’ and you want the same person to negotiate with you, morally and understandably, they will not be comfortable in doing so,” he said.

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He alleged that even when President Nana Akufo-Addo asked Mr Ofori-Atta to engage the IMF for a balance of payment support, he refused.

“It had to take the President to impress upon the Information Ministry to release the statement,” he told the host Oyerepa Breakfast Time, Kwesi Parker-Wilson (from 9 mins into the show/video).

He added:

“[Ken Ofori-Atta] is so bossy. We did not elect the finance minister to the office; he was appointed by the government so he cannot impose himself on us that is why we are calling for his head. The President should have done the needful by reshuffling him or sack him.”

Gabby says ministerial reshuffle will not end Ukraine war, reduce inflation or make cedi strong

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a previous story that Gabby Otchere-Darko has trivialised calls for a ministerial reshuffle, claiming it will not solve the myriad of problems cited for Ghana’s economic challenges.

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The leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says a change in the president’s appointments won’t end the Ukraine war, reduce inflation or make the cedi strong.

Government spokespersons named the war in Ukraine countless times as the cause of Ghana’s economic hardship, characterised by high inflation and the declining value of the cedi.

Source: YEN.com.gh