Government to get an IMF bailout within 6 months – Oppong Nkrumah

Oppong suggests IMF negotiations will not take long

‘The more broken an economy is, the longer the IMF negotiations’, Bright Simons

Zambia waited for 5 years for an IMF programme, Simons

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has indicated that the government is optimistic about getting a bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within six months.

He suggested the negotiation will not take long, contrary to assertions in the public, because the reasons for Ghana's seeking a bailout are quite clear to the government.

“... on the average, it will take about 6 months (to get into an IMF programme). I think the last ECF (Extended Credit Facility) (IMF support) took about 7 months. We think that, on average, in about 6 months (we will get an IMF programme) but we will work towards shorting it a little bit.

“What a lot of people are afraid about are the potential conditionalities ... in our situation, we are clear about the things that complied us to go there, in particular the second boult of crisis (Russian-Ukraine war) that has hit us,” Oppong Nkrumah said in a JoyNews interview, monitored by GhanaWeb.

“... we have to negotiate with the fund in such a way that the things that are most critical to Ghanaians are protected,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has suggested that the government’s decision to go into an IMF programme will not have any immediate impact on the current hardships Ghanaians are facing.

According to him, the government waited too long to go to the IMF, a situation that has worsened the economy.

In a series of tweets shared on July 1, 2022, Simons indicated that because Ghana’s economic situation is far worse now, it will take a longer time for the government to get a programme with the IMF.

“Ghana waited too long to go to the IMF. IMF doesn't like basket cases. Ghana stubbornly refused to sign on to the DSSI. IMF will insist. It will take weeks to get an IMF staff agrmt. Then the IMF Board has to agree. So, this is NOT a short-term option. The more broken an economy, the longer the IMF negotiations. Argentina's latest deal has been under discussion for 2 yrs now. Zambia's for ~5yrs,” he said.

Meanwhile, GhanaWeb is accepting nominations for the prestigious GhanaWeb Excellence Awards – Youth Edition. Watch how you can nominate from the video below.

IB/BOG