Former President John Dramani has elaborated on why he disagreed with the International Monetary Fund’s assessment of Ghana’s economic situation, made by Madam Kristalina Georgieva.
The former president maintained that the IMF chief’s assessment could mean she was either unaware of our economic situation or was being diplomatic.
He had stated that IMF and offer diplomats’ comments on Ghana’s economic crisis should be based on facts that take into account local realities and opinions.
He claimed that the situation was brought about by the government’s “bad policies.”
Reiterating this position, Mr. Mahama said “the only thing that might happen may be in the IMF negotiations, IMF will ask you to add to the public debt instead of paying it as ESLA LC. You mortgaged GETFund and this daakye bonds and spend the money in advance. You are using it for STEM secondary schools. So all the projects in all the other schools have come to a stand still because you can’t pay the contractors…”
This he lamented would make the government on a borrowing spree and these are some of the things the IMF managing director does not know.
He said “and so if she says” our economic woes were caused by external factors, because it is either she was unaware or being diplomatic.
He said it is for this reason he came out to address the issue.
He was speaking in an interview on TV3.
Background
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva recently attributed Ghana’s prevailing weak economic conditions to shocks from the Covid pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war.
She opined that shocks from the two unforeseen factors heavily impacted the economy and not bad policies.
“Like everybody on this planet you have been hurt by exogenous shocks. First the pandemic, then Russia-Ukraine. And then the we need to realise is not because of bad policies in the country, but because of this combination of shocks,” she added.
“And therefore, we have to support (Ghana) because you’re a member. You’re a strong country, you have fantastic people, but also we have to support Ghana because your strength contributes to the strength of your neighbours. It contributes to a stronger world,” she told journalists at the ongoing Africa Climate Change Adaptation Summit.
But Mr. Mahama reacted saying “While the norm in international diplomacy of being guarded in what one says is appreciated, comments by high ranking officials must be grounded on facts that take into consideration local realities and opinions.
The incontrovertible fact is that, Ghana is in a mess due to the BAD POLICIES of this government, which have contributed massively to the dire state of affairs.
International diplomats must consider these facts and not just ignore them; lest they make wrong diagnosis and prescribe inappropriate remedies.
The consequences of the government’s ill-adviced policies such as the botched, insensitive and dubious cost in closing down locally owned banks, unbridled levels of corruption and lack of accountability including the mismanagement of COVID-19 funds, unconventional borrowing practices riddled with opaqueness and conflicts of interest, resulting in an unsustainable debt envelope, costly, experimental and untested programmes, etc., cannot be ignored in understanding the current dire state of the Ghanaian Economy.
Therefore, the rhetoric that emanates from international diplomats must reflect local realities. The Ghanaian economy must be managed first for the Ghanaian who lives and experiences it daily, not just for an international audience.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
