The Minority in Parliament have warned Ghanaians to brace themselves for the full consequences of the $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the Minority, without doubt, the $3 billion bailout from the IMF will bite hard on Ghanaians, especially the youth.
The warning follows the approval of the $3 billion, three-year extended credit facility for Ghana.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday May 17, 2023, approved about $3 billion 36-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement for Ghana. This decision according to the Fund will enable an immediate disbursement equivalent to about $600 million.
The rest is expected to be disbursed in tranches every six months, following programme reviews approved by the IMF Executive Board.
The Fund in a statement said Ghana’s economic programme has three key objectives: restoring macroeconomic stability, ensuring debt sustainability, and laying the foundations for higher and more inclusive growth.
It said the programme will protect the vulnerable as a core objective of IMF programmes. In general, IMF-supported programs seek to boost social spending to improve socioeconomic outcomes and help promote inclusive growth.
Read Also: IMF board approves Ghana’s $3bn bailout
Reacting to this, the Minority in Parliament raised concerns that the $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund will bring untoward hardship to Ghanaians, especially the youth.
In a statement signed by the Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority slammed the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government for failing to heed the advice of the minority caucus on the deteriorating state of the economy to seek an IMF bailout to place the economy on a path to recovery earlier.
“The Minority has on countless occasions cautioned this government that the fruits of its crass mismanagement of Ghana’s economy through wanton misuse of borrowed funds for consumption purposes had long crystallized into a crisis. We urged the government to immediately seek the Fund’s support long ago, a call that was flatly disregarded.
It added that,“The Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government’s continuous denial over the true state of Ghana’s economy, and their strenuous attempts to shift responsibility and blame external factors have been clear from day one. Despite all the manipulations of the data to hide the true state of the economy, the real situation on the ground has no doubt subsequently compelled them to arrive at the doorsteps of the IMF like a patient in an emergency ambulance, desperate for immediate resuscitation.
The Minority again stated that,“Suffice it to say, that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, as part of their proposal to the IMF to secure this deal, has agreed to increase utility tariffs every three months from last year. So far, since September 2022, electricity tariffs have gone up by a cumulative figure of 75.32% (27% in September 2022, 29.96% in the last quarter of 2022, and 18.36% a few days ago).
“Let us brace ourselves for the full consequences of this IMF deal, which will, without doubt, bite hard on Ghanaians, especially the youth. This is not a counsel of despair, but a reality that will soon dawn on all of us,” it added.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
