Ahead of the commencement of in-person meetings between the Government of Ghana and the delegation from the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday 6th July 2022, the Director of the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Professor Peter Quartey believes the Fund will reject any program that will see government subsidizing some of its flagship programs.
While government has assured Ghanaians that its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund will be in the best interest of Ghanaians, some fear flagship programs such as the Free SHS as well as public sector employment will be sacrificed for the IMF bailout.
While a delegation from the IMF is expected in the country on July 5, 2022, government is set to meet with the team on Wednesday, July 6, 2022.
Sharing his view ahead of the upcoming face-to-face meeting, Prof. Quartey urged government to prioritise the creation of an enabling environment for businesses, among others, to ensure they get the buy-in of the IMF team.
“I believe the IMF is not in support of any planted subsidies. They would like you to provide the enabling environment for key industries and sectors to thrive. So whatever you can do to provide the enabling environment, I believe they would support that. But to say you are going to subsidize agriculture or manufacturing wholesale when you don’t have the resources, I don’t think you can do that.”
“So where there has to be an enabling environment for the sector to thrive they will indeed support us, given that we have the resources, otherwise they will not,” he added.
