Franklin Cudjoe
President of Imani Africa Franklin Cudjoe has advised the Akufo-Addo administration to seek help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), advising that the Government ought to do away with its shyness and get the IMF to help it stop the huge borrowing.
His advice comes after the downgrade by Fitch and predictions by credible organizations and Economists that the economy is in dire straits and needs urgent attention to avert a total collapse.
“We all fall on hard times and need some support from family and friends..but Government has driven the country into a debt iceberg and we are sinking with fewer lifeboats. And passerby ships that should care are simply smiling and waving at us... We need to stop the debt clock by rationalising our expenditure plans and more... Meanwhile, the government should talk to the IMF to help. We shouldn’t be shy at all,” Mr Cudjoe admonished.
The West African nation’s [Ghana’s] dollar bonds have slumped 10% in 10 days, moving deeper into distressed territory as investors judge that re-financing debt in the Eurobond market won’t be an option when the Federal Reserve hikes rates and budget targets remain elusive.
The extra premium demanded on Ghana’s sovereign dollar debt jumped on Wednesday to an average of 1,105 basis points, from 683 basis points in September. It's $27 billion of foreign debt had the worst start to the year among emerging markets, extending last year’s 14% loss, according to a Bloomberg index,” Bloomberg said of the Ghanaian economy.
Meanwhile, the Government through the Ministry of Finance has said that contrary to predictions, the Ghanaian economy has strong enough fundamentals to withstand the current challenges.
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