Akufo-Addo Declares IMF Bailout Decision Not Because Of Government Mismanagement

• President Nana Akufo-Addo has defended his government from the allegation that reckless spending caused the IMF bailout decision
• The president said external factors had caused Ghana's current economic challenges
• He said unlike in Mahama's time, Ghana has fallen on the IMF currently because disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war have hit the whole world

President Nana Akufo-Addo has dismissed suggestions that the country has run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout because of mismanagement under his government.

He told Damango-based PAD FM that external factors pushed Ghana’s economy to the brink, noting that the global crisis has spared no global economy.

“Everybody recognises it is not as a result of my mismanagement, as was the case during the tenure of the previous government. The reality is that there are global inflation, high commodity prices, among others, and all these have been the principal reasons for the difficulties we are having as a country,” the president said.

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He, however, said his administration is determined to take Ghana back to better days.

Shortly before the president made the comments, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) took a swipe at his government for plunging the country into economic difficulties.

The opposition party said it was not true that the economic challenges was the result of the Russia/Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NDC said reckless spending was a major cause of the economic hardship.

Finance Minister Ordered To Engage IMF For Economic Programme

Akufo-Addo in July 2022 directed Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to begin formal engagements with the IMF for an economic programme.

The government said global economic disruption triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war worsened Ghana's macroeconomic challenges. High public debt, rising inflation and depleting foreign reserves have destabilised the balance of payment. Economic hardship in Ghana has remained a topical national issue since the start of 2022.

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“The President of the Republic, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has authorised Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to commence formal engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), inviting the Fund to support an economic programme put together by the Government of Ghana,” a statement dated July 1, 2022 said.

A month prior, the finance minister ruled out the possibility of seeking assistance from the IMF. He told reporters that Ghana was committed to managing its debt without assistance from the multi-lateral institution.

Source: YEN.com.gh