The Minority in Parliament claims that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, have demonstrated an inability to negotiate the IMF’s $3 billion loan (IMF).
The group claims that discussions to secure the deal are not yielding positive results due to the Finance Minister’s failure to demonstrate transparency in the Debt Exchange Programme.
Speaking to journalists, Minority Chief Whip Governs Kwame Agbodza stated that the pair must rely on the expertise of others for successful fund support.
“We have to know what actually Ken Ofori-Atta and Bawumia are doing. The IMF negotiations are not going on very well. They have shown clearly that they lack the ability to negotiate this properly. I encourage them to seek help. There are people in and outside the NPP who can help.”
“The two do not have the skill set in terms of the ability to deliver. I think the country should call them to order. We cannot continue to wait on Ken Ofori-Atta when donors are anxious about what is going to happen”, Mr. Agbodza added.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has admitted that if Ghana does not secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund by mid-March, the country’s economy will grind to a halt.
This, he claims, is due to bondholders’ opposition to their inclusion in the domestic debt exchange program.
“We really feel that government has listened, there is humanity in us, we are protecting the destitute, widows and the orphans and the older people who have worked for this nation. We are in a crisis, we cannot put our heads under the sun and pretend that we are not.
“We need to be mindful that we really need to be successful in going to the fund by this March to avoid what we all experienced last year which we all don’t want to experience again.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has also stated that other creditors must support his government’s efforts to restructure both the country’s external and domestic debts in order for the IMF deal to be completed quickly.
