Provide specifics on what first tranche of IMF loan will be used for – Jantuah to Ofori Atta

The Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee of the Convention Peoples Party(CPP), Lawyer Kwame Jantuah is demanding specifics on what the first tranche of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) loan will be used for as the country prepares to receive the first tranche today.

The IMF on Wednesday announced that it has approved $3bn facility to help revive Ghana’s ailing economy with the first tranche of $600m expected to hit government coffers today, Friday May 19, 2023.

Government is optimistic this will better the lot of Ghanaians. But the Minority in Parliament believes otherwise.

Speaking on the Weekend Review Segment on Starr FM, Kwame Jantuah said there ought to be transparency as he questions why government has failed to take the right measures to transform the economy.

“… I heard the Finance Minister when he said the IMF $600 first tranche that is coming we are going to use it for government programmes, what programmes? Like before, oh, we are using it for X, but we are doing Y. You don’t delve deep into the nitty gritty for people to understand. You have to delve into it.

“We are getting $604million between now and the next tranche that will come in, number one, number two, number three…this is how we will expend it, these are some of the returns we are looking.

"Has that been done, has that been told us? Should that transparency not start, because you say this IMF thing that is coming in is to build confidence in the economy, that confidence in the economy where should it start from?

"Shouldn’t it start locally? why is it that we are always thinking of international and we are thinking of going back to the bond market and get loans, why,” Kwame Jantuah asked?