The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated that Ghana is yet to request a financial program from the institution.
This comes on the back of calls, by some stakeholders, for Ghana to seek a bailout from the IMF to address its current economic challenges.
Despite harsh criticisms, the government continues to maintain that the most prudent measure in the face of Ghana’s ailing economy is not to go back to the IMF, but rather to rely on the E-levy and other homegrown measures to raise revenue domestically.
Some analysts have proposed and continue to call on the government to seek an IMF bailout as a better alternative amidst public disapproval of the E-levy, which government expects to yield about GHC 7 billion this year.
A former New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, and a one-time Chair of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, a few weeks back added his voice to the pro-IMF calls saying that government’s insistence on passing the Electronic-Transfer Levy to shore up its revenue target is not right given the existential economic challenges.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Finance, Mr. Seth Terkper, recently advised the government to go to the IMF, for policy credibility to stabilise the economy and help Ghana access the international capital market.
In a response to a question during a press briefing on Thursday, February 10, 2022, on whether or not Ghana is seeking a program with the IMF, the Director of Communications at the Bretton Woods Institution, Gerry Rice clarified that even though they are monitoring the recovery program in the country, no request for a program has been made.
“We are, of course, as always monitoring the economic recovery there in Ghana. We highlighted in our Article IV consultation last year that a deeper, more equitable fiscal effort is needed in our view. And the proposed 2022 budget, we think announced a 20 percent spending cut to go into that direction.”
“The Ghanaian authorities have not requested a financial program with the IMF, but again, as I said, in the context of another country, we stand ready to support Ghana in any way deemed useful by the authorities. But again, just to be clear and answer your question, the Ghanaian authorities have not requested a financial program with the IMF as of today,” he added.
