Ghana’s decision to seek IMF assistance worth it – President Akufo-Addo

The Government of Ghana has defended its decision to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July 2022, arguing that the consequences are worthwhile.

“It is a decision that already has paid off. It has paid off in terms of the clear turn around that we have seen in our economy,” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said.

The systematic decline in inflation, interest rate and the relatively stable exchange rate were all important signals that the economy was stabilising and at a good place, he said.

The President, in an interaction with the Managing Director, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, at the Jubilee House in Accra on Sunday, said “the foundation that it is building for the future is very strong”.

Madam Georgieva and her team are in Ghana to participate in an Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference jointly organised by the Ministry of Finance and the IMF. The event is under the theme, “AI as a Catalyst to Transform Economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Last two years, IMF and the Ghanaian authorities reached staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms to be supported by a new three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of about US$3 billion.

The reform programme aims at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, preserving financial stability, and laying the foundation for strong and inclusive recovery.

In addition to fiscal consolidation and measures to reduce inflation and rebuild external buffers, the programme envisages wide-ranging reforms to address structural weaknesses and enhance resilience to shocks.

“Where we are today is a clear testimony – the fact that our decision to seek your support, was a decision that was correct, and we have had very positive benefits from it,” President Akufo-Addo said of the IMF deal.

The country, he assured, was committed to the arrangements that the two parties had entered into.

“We now need to have an extremely involved discussion about where we are going, and the need for steadiness, and to stay through. For the fundamentals that have been agreed between us is the way forward.

“At the end of the day, it is not the steadiness in itself that matters. It is the outcome, and the outcomes that we are looking for, is this rapid development of prosperity for our people,” the President noted.

He lauded the visiting IMF MD for her commitment to duty and sense of professionalism.

“I think one of the things that has marked your period in office as the MD of the IMF is the strong sense that you have a clearer understanding of the problems of countries like my own, and, therefore, you are minded to try to look for ways of alleviating and helping us make a progress, despite the difficult period in which we are operating”.

President Akufo-Addo said the Ghanaian story was unique in many ways, as it was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to free itself from colonial rule.

“So, our journey has to be typical of what is happening in the evolution of Africa since independence,” he echoed.

Ms Georgieva lauded the Ghana Government for keeping to the arrangements under the IMF deal, saying the debt restructuring had been faster than expected.