Since the IMF loan was approved, Ken Ofori, Ghana's finance minister, has been in a happy mood. His tweets have been entirely focused on the approved deal. In his most recent comment on the matter, minister Ofori Atta once more displayed his bombastic demeanor by asserting that the permission shows how Ghana can readily access the global capital market for fresh funding.
For those who may not be aware, Ghana is likely to garner interest from the global business groups now that it has received IMF certification. That suggests that Ghanaians should prepare to welcome investors who, before the IMF's permission, were scared off by our listing of bad debts. With the most recent development, they are probably self-assured enough to overcome their former concerns.
Perhaps this explains why Ghana is about to re-enter the international capital market, as Minister Ofori Atta stated immediately following the IMF permission. Thus, Ghana can once more borrow money from sources other the Bretton Woods institutions. Businesses or investors, whether domestic or international, shouldn't be reluctant to lend money to other crucial sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
Clearly, if these are not merely conjectures but actual stimuli that are likely to affect the Ghanaian economy, then our economy will quickly rebound and resume its upward trend. The IMF is the magic wand in this situation. Is Ghana obtaining a loan from the International Monetary Fund for the first time, though? Even though it may have started in the First Republic, our IMF engagement reached its peak with the Rawlings administration. After that, practically all of the governments in the Fourth Republic joined the fray, adding to the mounting debt.
This is our 18th happy relationship with the IMF overall. So what is the purpose of the joy? In fact, many who support this government are not in the least astonished by its interactions with the IMF. This is the same administration that threw a kenkey party to mark Ghana's last release from a comparable IMF program. It appears that the administration's populist orientation knows no bounds and that they will continue to display the least impressive accomplishments with much fanfare.
But in the case of the IMF, I venture the bold prediction that it hasn't quite reached the point of joy despite the IMF's success. In order for us to fully benefit from the IMF breakthrough, there are still concerns that need to be resolved. There is currently no assurance that the IMF loan will encourage other capital market lenders and investors to once again choose Ghana as their investment destination. This is due to the fact that there are still wastes in the system that could impede foreign investment in the nation.
The IMF and the international capital market took note of the President's ministers' excess of eighty when they were making preparations for the IMF loan. Once more, there is little evidence that the establishment is making any efforts to enhance our fiscal policies. Even individuals named in numerous corruption allegations, as well as those named in the official Auditor General's reports, continue to roam freely.
Many of the president's top government officials were recently involved in a severe controversy involving small-scale mining. The impacted parties are battling the Professor Frimpong Boateng report rather than attempting to determine the veracity or otherwise of the report by the ministerial committee appointed by the President. The government presented what has easily become a façade of slashing government spending to entice the IMF in the days leading up to the IMF loan agreement.
The decision to limit the amount of public money that ministers and all other government officials spend has, in fact, been a complete failure. Unfortunately for the nation, the IMF and other potential lenders and investors are already thinking about these problems. Thus, minister Ofori Atta has not yet experienced uhuru or delight.
These market participants are also aware of how President Kufuor's HIPC administration completely erased Ghana's debt. They are also aware of Ghana's development becoming a frequent IMF client. Therefore, even such a paltry $3 billion may not be the magic wand that attracts investors and industry to Ghana. The finance minister and his allies are now forced to live in their illusions and populist facades.