Trainee allowances intact under IMF deal - Osafo-Maafo guarantees

The Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has assured all trainees in colleges of education of the government's commitment to retaining their allowances under the IMF deal.

Speaking at the 175th-anniversary celebration of Akropong College of Education, the presidential advisor said that despite the concerns raised about the IMF conditionalities.

He further added that any delay in payment of the allowances will be the fault of the government and not because of the IMF.

“I know that the difficulty in the economic landscape, which has resulted in the government signing up for a programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), may cause you some concerns.

"But none of the allowances introduced in the teaching profession will be affected by our programme with the IMF. If there are any difficulties in prompt payments, it is coming from our own mobilization of resources and not from the IMF,” Osafo-Maafo said.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unanimously approved the $3 billion bailout for Ghana at a meeting held on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, in Washington, United States of America.

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and other parties who negotiated on behalf of the government of Ghana for the bailout have been described as wicked because of the agreement they settled on.

Some of the conditions supposedly enshrined in the $3 billion bailout agreement include; the removal of Value Added Tax (Vat) exemptions, reducing Customs exemptions, automatically adjusting fuel levies by the exchange rate, movement and inflation, and a limit to the rate at which the government can increase the salaries of public sector workers among others.

ABJ/OGB



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