Aftermath of IMF programme: Government to maintain fiscal discipline – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government will commit to maintaining fiscal discipline in the aftermath of the IMF programme.

According to the President, the 16th IMF programme contracted by the previous administration has offered important lessons for the government.

“It is about a fundamental and basic matter all of us as Ghanaians have to bear in mind, and that is discipline in the management of our public finances.”

“It’s not easy to say that you have to live within your means but if you want to be able to do big things, you don’t spend money that you don’t have, that is always the road to chaos.”

“We have to learn that discipline in the management of our public finances has now to be the basic element for the building of our economy, and that is the lesson that the latest bailout programme from the IMF should impress upon all of us,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday when he interacted with members of the Ghanaian community resident in Valletta, Malta, as part of his official visit to that country.

President Akufo-Addo noted that his government had brought the fiscal deficit under control, which hovered around 7.3per cent at the end of 2016, to under 3.9 per cent.

“It is my intention that we keep it there. We keep it there because it is the signal to investors, it is the signal to those who look at the fundamentals of your economy, that the basic elements of that economy are in a good state,” he added.

The efforts of his government at managing the economy, the President said, has meant that “we are attracting companies like Volkswagen and Nissan, Synotruck, Renault, Suzuki. All of these are taking a big interest in Ghana. The tech giant, Google, is taking steps to start establishing an artificial intelligence centre in Ghana. All of this is because they consent that there’s a discipline and systemic management in our national economy and its public finances.”

Fiscal discipline, according to President Akufo-Addo, has to be Ghana’s credo going forward, adding that “if we are able to project that discipline, the benefits to us are going to be very rapid and very dramatic, and that transformation of our national economic structure, which all of us are waiting for, will be very soon around the corner.”

With Ghana projected to be one of the fastest growing economies in Africa this year, President Akufo-Addo stated that “we have to stay that way and stay focused on the programme, and on the way that we have taken things. I am trying to project the reality which is there’s a lot of hope for our country.”

To the “professional Jeremiahs” whose only interest is to rundown the nation, the President stated that “I am not daunted. I don’t really pay too much attention to what they say. I know what I am doing, and I believe what I am doing has the support of our people.”