Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, says Ghanaians will soon praise the New Patriotic Party for engaging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support its economic programmes.
Dr Akoto wants Ghanaians to be concerned about the conditionalities that will come with Ghana’s engagement with the Monetary Fund.
President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo on Friday authorised the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to commence formal engagements with the IMF to support the country’s economy.
The move has generated mixed reactions and controversy.
Dr Akoto is calling for calm with the hope that the IMF conditionalities would be favourable to all Ghanaians.
“Ghanaians should calm down and wait for the terms that will come out of our engagement with the IMF and they will realise it will be favourable to the people of this country.”
Speaking to Nhyira FM’s Kwadwo Jantuah on Kukurantumi, Dr Akoto said it is not strange for Ghana to seek advice from the IMF.
“Ghanaians will soon praise us for going to the IMF. The IMF is not a stranger that we are going to beg, we are prominent African member of the Fund and they are there to advise the government. The president in his wisdom has decided its about time we spoke to them and we are going to speak to them. The terms we will bring are the most important thing.”
He blamed the government’s decision go to the IMF on Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war which, according to him, has disrupted everything in the country.
He says the grounds on which the previous administration went to the IMF are far different from the current situation.
“There have been two unprecedented historical events in the last two years, one of which is global Covid. Since 1919 there has never been a global outbreak of a disease of that nature and we suffered that,” he emphasised.
“Then we had this European War which has never happened since 1939 which has disrupted everything in the country,” he added.
“So you cannot compare the situation between the last time we went to the IMF to what we are doing now.”
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