Government blames decision to go to IMF on COVID-19, war
In a swift U-turn, the government of Ghana announced a decision to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The decision has been met with widespread criticism across the Ghanaian public space.
In a street interview with some regular Ghanaians, various opinions have been shared about the country’s 17th journey to the IMF.
For some who fear the impact an IMF programme may have on some social intervention policies, they believe the government must rather consider giving up some expenditures in favour of such policies.
“If the programme leads to the cancellation of pro-poor policies I will be compelled to think there is a collusion between them (IMF) and government. Things like ex-gratia take a lot of our budget and if it’s going to be left at the expense of social intervention policies like Free SHS it won’t make sense. They should cancel the ex-gratia instead,” a trader told Oman Channel.
Others said they feel disappointed in President Akufo-Addo considering the level of confidence they reposed in him and the current state of Ghana’s economy.
“We all played a role for Akufo-Addo to become our president with our thumbs. And it is disappointing how he is steering the affairs of the nation. Now, look at the price of fuel. They brought E-Levy and now they are going to IMF.
“I can say that we are being sold off as a nation and very soon the whites will take over us,” a man said.
Another man who shared his opinion stated that there is a leadership crisis in Ghana.
“Whenever they are given power, it becomes the same story of failure. NDC is in opposition now and you can see how convincing they sound but once we give them power, sense will elude them. We don’t need God to descend or IMF to come and make Ghana better, we only need good leadership which we don’t have. Meanwhile, we have all the resources,” he stated.
The government on July 1, 2022, announced a decision to seek IMF assistance to mitigate current economic hardship.
According to the government, the move has become necessary considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on Ghana’s economy.
