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Gov’t not extending IMF programme due to conflicting plans - Economist
Dr Eric Osei-Assibey explained that the government’s plan to spend more on some important sectors of the economy maybe against the IMF conditionalities hence their reason to end the bailout.
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He explained to Accra-based Citi FM that the government’s plan to spend more on some important sectors of the economy maybe against the IMF conditionalities.
“If you take Free SHS for example, education is a critical area for the country and they may want to spend more there to fulfil the promise. Probably government has alternative policies, programmes or strategies to achieve the same outcome or a better outcome rather than relying on the IMF, that will be my understanding.”
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“The position has been that, if you look at the IMF programme, especially the structural reform, then in the medium to the long term, it is in the interest of Ghana. When it comes to structural reforms in this country, we are unable to drive that on our own,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo during his address at the media encounter said the government will not extend the IMF programme when it ends in 2018. This is contrary to early assertions that it will be extended.
Dr Osei-Assibey said this could also be because President Akufo-Addo believes that Ghana can develop without aid.
“We have a new a president who believes in Ghana, and the fact that a home-grown policy can work. But we do not have that alternative programme, strategies and policies to be able to evaluate side by side with the IMF programme. It is also evident from the 2017 budget, that the budget itself doesn’t contain sufficient productivity enhancing reform in the budget that will substitute for the IMF programme.”
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