The International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted a $ 3 billion bailout for Ghana, but President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has clarified what Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said to the effect that Ghana was not in a haste to return to the capital market to borrow.
On Tuesday, May 23, when asked when the nation will return to the stock market, the President responded, "There is no urgency to come back, but why can't we take advantage of global savings and make some, it makes a lot of sense to do so.
"The Finance Minister stated that we would make every effort to uphold the discipline which is required, which is the most important prerequisite of a successful programme. That will mean ramping up our own domestic savings, being able to put systematic control of our public expenditure to make sure that we are always cutting our coat according to our cloth and giving the impetus to private sector investment. We are looking at that more than we are looking for assistance from the multilateral.”
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta earlier indicated that there was no rush on the part of the government to return to the international capital market to borrow following the coming on board the $3billion bailout from the Fund.
He said during a joint Ghana-IMF press conference in Washington on Thursday, May 18 when asked a question about Ghana returning to the capital market that “In addition to the revenue measures that we saw in the budget that are improving at GRA and that will give us the resource to move forward, curtailing and managing our expenditures are going to be important.
“There is no rush in going back to the international capital market, our expectation is that in managing our expenditure and increasing our revenue we will have the resources to do it. Working towards the capital market is important because we want to get our ratings up and make the country more attractive for investors, especially FDIs. So no one is rushing to the capital market at this juncture.”
The Board of the Fund unanimously approved Ghana’s bailout on Wednesday, May 17 at a meeting in Washington after Ghana secured the Paris Club financing assurance on Friday, May 12.