“IMF Bailout Hurts Most Because Ghana Has Oil”

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mojingles 11 years ago

The idea of seeking financial and policy assistance from the IMF to shore up our rickety economy isn't exactly a novelty ...it has been done before by other nations whose economies contracted after periods of boom...the brouh ...
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The idea of seeking financial and policy assistance from the IMF to shore up our rickety economy isn't exactly a novelty ...it has been done before by other nations whose economies contracted after periods of boom...the brouhaha generated by the NDC government's decision is therefore plain foolish....

Ghana's oil production is not enough to generate foreign exchange in excess of what it currently earns.....exploration, discovery and boom takes a generation and Arthur Kennedy should have known that from an abundance of evidence about oil producers such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia...we may have oil, but the windfall would not be seen immediately.

The IMF may prescribe bitter pills if we want to salvage our economy but that is the nature of the beast we are confronting, either we take tough decisions that ultimately would prove beneficial or whine and fret till thy kingdom com. You can be assured that one thing the IMF will insist on is gutting the pervasive corruption that has taken firm root in our public service.

A bloated civic service has to be trimmed if we are get the economy firing on all cylinders...the Single Spine Salary Structure was a poorly timed and ill-advised policy. Its sustenance was questionable from the beginning but nobody would dare question the motive behind its implementation.....no wonder it has contributed massively to the poor showing of the national economy.

There are deep structural problems with the economy and band aid solutions won't cut it....Ghanaians should be prepared to bear the brunt for the next 10 years before things get better.
NBTT 11 years ago

Corporate Vultures Descend on Ghana

Fear is the key. To get African leaders to do America's bidding the State Department's Dirty Tricks organisations, namely the NSA and CIA go ruthlessly to work. In most countries the USA ...
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Corporate Vultures Descend on Ghana

Fear is the key. To get African leaders to do America's bidding the State Department's Dirty Tricks organisations, namely the NSA and CIA go ruthlessly to work. In most countries the USA already has infrastructure and networks in place that can be used if necessary to subvert and and stir up trouble for host countries. These are mostly innocent looking NGOs, think tanks whose budgets can be traced directly or indirectly back to the USA . Academic, Health and even some religious organisations have been infiltrated by these foreign intelligence organisations. Furthermore many of our influential media personalities,heads of professional bodies, journalist, corporate heads ,heads of important academic institutions,student leaders are sometimes recruited and paid by these sinister foreign organisations.Political opposition leaders can come in useful and are often encouraged and funded by foreign intelligence organisations to stir up trouble. The identity of the foreign organisation controlling local organisations in the host country is often concealed from the indigenous people. All of these institutions are targeted and used by foreign intelligence organisations with access to generous budgets. THE USA MAY HAVE BEEN ANGERED BY THE TENDENCY OF THE CURRENT MAHAMA ADMINISTRATION TO CONTINUE TO TRADE AND DO BUSINESS WITH COUNTRIES LIKE CHINA NATURALLY AT THE EXPENSE OF A COUNTRY LIKE THE USA. THE TRUTH IS THAT COUNTRIES LIKE CHINA CONTINUE TO PRODUCE WHAT AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND OTHERS WANT.IN RETURN GHANA SUPPLIES THINGS CHINA NEEDS SUCH AS RAW MATERIALS. IN CONTRAST THE USA DOES NOT PRODUCE MUCH THAT A COUNTRY LIKE GHANA NEEDS OR WANTS. AMERICA THEREFORE SIMPLY RESORTS TO THREATS, COERCION MANIPULATION, FEAR AND ATTEMPTS TO BRING COUNTRIES UNDER ITS INFLUENCE BY OFFERING "LOANS" "DEVELOPMENT" AID INVARIABLY WITH STRINGS ATTACHED. THIS IS CALLED CARROT AND STICK POLITICS. BASICALLY IT ENTAILS ORCHESTRATING POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EVENTS USING THE VARIOUS TOOLS DESCRIBED ABOVE TO FRIGHTEN A GOVERNMENT INTO SUBMISSION THEN AT THE SAME TIME OFFER "HELP" USUALLY IN THE FORM OF "LOANS" AND "BAIL OUTS" WITH THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS STRINGS ATTACHED. A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR WHICH HAS ENDEARED THE CHINESE TO MANY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN AFRICA, ASIA AND ELSEWHERE IS THEIR EXCELLENT HABIT OF HELPING HOST NATIONS TO BUILD UP THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH AS ROADS ETC. DECADES AND DECADES OF CONTACT WITH WESTERN POWERS INCLUDING THE USA HAS NOT YIELDED SIMILAR RESULTS. IN SHORT WHILE OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS MAY SAY AND DO WHATEVER THEY LIKE THE TRUTH REMAINS THAT WESTERN COUNTRIES HAVE NOT BEEN OF AS MUCH USE TO AFRICA OR GHANA AS CHINA HAS BEEN. That is not to say that the Chinese are perfect economic partners as anyone who has been following current affairs in Ghana will readily acknowledge but in comparison to our American friends the Chinese without a doubt look like saints. In an attempt to regain "lost ground" the State department in Washington is doing everything it can to lean heavily on African governments and where necessary even forcibly remove them (for example Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, who had massive trade with China).

FELLOW GHANAIANS JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES WHETHER ANY GOOD WILL COME OUT OF THIS SO-CALLED IMF LOAN. ALREADY I SEE CORPORATE AMERICAN VULTURES CIRCLING OVERHEAD AS GHANA IS BEING SLICED, DICED AND DISMEMBERED. EXPECT A FEEDING FRENZY AS THESE CORPORATE AND MULTINATIONAL PREDATORS DESCEND ON US. TO GIVE A CIVILISED APPEARANCE TO ALL OF THIS AFRICAN LEADERS HAD A "SUMMIT" WITH OBAMA IN WASHINGTON RECENTLY. RIFE CORRUPTION IN ANY GOVERNMENT ALWAYS RENDERS THAT GOVERNMENT VULNERABLE TO SINISTER AND DETRIMENTAL MANIPULATION BY POWERFUL MALEVOLENT FOREIGN INTERESTS. PRAY. GHANAIANS PRAY AS NEVER BEFORE. PRAY THAT GHANA WILL BE ABLE TO ENDURE OR CAST OFF THE HEAVY YOKES ABOUT TO BE PLACED ON OUR NECKS. INFORMATION REVEALED HERE IS ALL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND SURPRISE SURPRISE FROM THE U.S.A. NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (NBTT)CAN DELIVER US. ONLY THE GOOD LORD CAN RESCUE US OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE WICKED
BOY KOFI 11 years ago

What makes the difference between policy and politics? I can say that Kuffour had a well defined policies than Mills and Mahama.The reason is that there was this orientation for reducing poverty and greating wealth, some may ...
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What makes the difference between policy and politics? I can say that Kuffour had a well defined policies than Mills and Mahama.The reason is that there was this orientation for reducing poverty and greating wealth, some may call it property owning philosophy.Again, there was this expansion of business through the formal or informal sectors.Coming to Ndc, one cannot tell where we are going because many business are folding up and I don't think the IMF is coming here to boost business.This is what Ndc erred by neglecting local business and concentrating on foreign investors only.Thank you.
mojingles 11 years ago

The idea of seeking financial and policy assistance from the IMF to shore up our rickety economy isn't exactly a novelty ...it has been done before by other nations whose economies contracted after periods of boom...the brouh ...
read full comment

The idea of seeking financial and policy assistance from the IMF to shore up our rickety economy isn't exactly a novelty ...it has been done before by other nations whose economies contracted after periods of boom...the brouhaha generated by the NDC government's decision is therefore plain foolish....

Ghana's oil production is not enough to generate foreign exchange in excess of what it currently earns.....exploration, discovery and boom takes a generation and Arthur Kennedy should have known that from an abundance of evidence about oil producers such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia...we may have oil, but the windfall would not be seen immediately.

The IMF may prescribe bitter pills if we want to salvage our economy but that is the nature of the beast we are confronting, either we take tough decisions that ultimately would prove beneficial or whine and fret till thy kingdom com. You can be assured that one thing the IMF will insist on is gutting the pervasive corruption that has taken firm root in our public service.

A bloated civic service has to be trimmed if we are get the economy firing on all cylinders...the Single Spine Salary Structure was a poorly timed and ill-advised policy. Its sustenance was questionable from the beginning but nobody would dare question the motive behind its implementation.....no wonder it has contributed massively to the poor showing of the national economy.

There are deep structural problems with the economy and band aid solutions won't cut it....Ghanaians should be prepared to bear the brunt for the next 10 years before things get better.
BOY KOFI 11 years ago

What are the modalities for the so called home grown policies? What exactly did the opposition parties tell the govt to do? I don't want to believe that our economy is so deadly in need of IMF to cover up its actions because ...
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What are the modalities for the so called home grown policies? What exactly did the opposition parties tell the govt to do? I don't want to believe that our economy is so deadly in need of IMF to cover up its actions because if you have GDP 6% and you still cannot steer the affair of the state then there is something fundamentally wrong.So what exactly is wrong with Mahama's administration?I think those making economic decisions have lost focus of how to protect and promote the Cedi. I am saying this because when Npp was in power, the Cedi was very stable even though the inflation rate was then higher and GDP did not grow up to 14%,there was no oil money as well.Mills had the oil money flowing but we did not see Ghanaian business expanding not in the formal or informal sectors.What we saw was the flux of foreign investors into specific areas that creates very few jobs so the socioeconomic impact was negative.I sincerely believe that the root cause of Mahama's difficulty comes from the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.It is clear that since Dr Duffour and Arthur Amissah vaccated their posts, the economy has not ceased to dwindle, we are now at GDP 6% which used to be 14%, why? The inflation rate from 8.8 up to 15.3%, Why? I think the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana are more responsible for all these mess because they are not capable to maintain the pace as they continue to stagger.I think it could have been a lot better to change these 2 administrators than going to the IMF.Thank you.
Small Boy 11 years ago

Home grown and foreign owned! What exactly is the point of that, except cheap labour for foreign 'investors', which hardly helps our economy or the pockets of ordinary Ghanaians? They've virtually given away the oil! Where do ...
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Home grown and foreign owned! What exactly is the point of that, except cheap labour for foreign 'investors', which hardly helps our economy or the pockets of ordinary Ghanaians? They've virtually given away the oil! Where do they get these old men in power from with no ideas and little imagination? No wonder the white people laugh at us and come here to treat us like serfs.
SARPONG 11 years ago

Small Boy, you are definitely right. The so called 14 percent growth was artificial. If you inherit an economy that was growing at 8.8 percent and you immediately have the oil money coming into the stream which added about 6 ...
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Small Boy, you are definitely right. The so called 14 percent growth was artificial. If you inherit an economy that was growing at 8.8 percent and you immediately have the oil money coming into the stream which added about 6 percent automatic growth, you have not done anything special that will keep the economy to keep growing unless the oil money keep increasing.

Mahama and his administration as at now are even having a negative economic growth under its watch with just 6 percent growth. They inherited an economy that was growing at 8.8 percent and despite the oil money can only maintain 6 percent growth, that shows at least based on the 2009 growth rate, we are negatively growing at -2.8
BOY KOFI 11 years ago

Ndc brought down inflation rate of 18% in 2009 to 8.8% in 2012 without much positive socio economic impact.The irony is that Kuffour's administration was able to keep the Cedi at bay.There was nothing like daily depreciation ...
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Ndc brought down inflation rate of 18% in 2009 to 8.8% in 2012 without much positive socio economic impact.The irony is that Kuffour's administration was able to keep the Cedi at bay.There was nothing like daily depreciation to the foreign currencies.I think the equation to the depreciation of the Cedi is the responsibility of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Finance Minister who are directly making economic and financial policies.These 2 officials have lost focus and should be sacked.Unlike Kuffour who put more emphasis on the expansion of the local private sector both formal and informal to reduce poverty and create wealth Ndc have only succeeded in collapsing all local businesses.I think that is where they erred. Npp encourages people to do their own business and prosper but Ndc is afraid to see people expanding their business, they will do everytjing to bring you down.It's so sad but that's the truth.I have been in business for a very long time and can tell you the difference between the 2 parties.You see, the cocoa farmers, the fishermen and the whole agriculture sector who feeds the country is in the hands of informal economic actors.The market women, street hawkers, chop bar operators and lot of artisans are in the informal sector.They are the engine of growth but we seem to be looking at IMF without creating any environment for them to grow.So what kind of home grown policy is the Mahama administration talking about? Thank you.
SARPONG 11 years ago

BOY KOFI, the oil money has a lot to do with the inflation reduction. There is a correlation between infusion of money into an economy like Ghana where any infusion of foreign currency is a positive for our import dependant e ...
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BOY KOFI, the oil money has a lot to do with the inflation reduction. There is a correlation between infusion of money into an economy like Ghana where any infusion of foreign currency is a positive for our import dependant economy.

Now the foreign currency is not having much effect because it is not enough to balance the monthly printing of the cedi by the government to meet its basic responsibilities and that is why the inflation is inching up.
KKO 11 years ago

Boy Kofi,
You are right about the NDC's uneasiness with prosperous Ghanaian businesses. It dates back from Jerry Rawlings and it would seem like an NDC electoral policy. "Keep Ghanaians, especially the rural folk poor, so we ...
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Boy Kofi,
You are right about the NDC's uneasiness with prosperous Ghanaian businesses. It dates back from Jerry Rawlings and it would seem like an NDC electoral policy. "Keep Ghanaians, especially the rural folk poor, so we can bribe them with peanuts at election time."

Jerry Rawlings destroyed mostly Akan-owned businesses because he feared that they would finance the opposition. Wofa Ata followed that nonesense with the EO Group brouhaha, which was sheer stupidity!

The NPP on their part were not afraid about the average Ghanaian doing well and employing more Ghanaians, thus putting something back into the local economy.

MS Coton, Carl Ploetner, Mabey & Johnson, Cementation Int , the Chinese Loan saga, etc, all point to the fact that the NDC is more comfortable with foreigners fleecing Ghana, as long as those foreigners are prepared to help them line their pockets, which most western, particularly American and European businesses would not do, for obvious reasons!

Kululu 11 years ago

A very good analysis on the hard choice our economy faces vrs the gravity of an IMF bail-out. A good and frank discussion.

A very good analysis on the hard choice our economy faces vrs the gravity of an IMF bail-out. A good and frank discussion.
ENEMIES OF PROGRESS 11 years ago

THE GREAT K4 (AND BAWUAH EDUSEI) IS POCKETING ALMOST HALF OF GHANA'S OIL MONEY UNFORTUNATELY LEGALLY..BUT CERTAINLY NOT MORALLY!!!! KEEP DITHERING ABOUT NDC CORRUPTION!!!

THE GREAT K4 (AND BAWUAH EDUSEI) IS POCKETING ALMOST HALF OF GHANA'S OIL MONEY UNFORTUNATELY LEGALLY..BUT CERTAINLY NOT MORALLY!!!! KEEP DITHERING ABOUT NDC CORRUPTION!!!
SARPONG 11 years ago

Mo, I can pull at least four articles from my rolodex of articles where I have been relentlessly preaching about the bloated government workforce and have been calling for government to trim the workforce and have been insult ...
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Mo, I can pull at least four articles from my rolodex of articles where I have been relentlessly preaching about the bloated government workforce and have been calling for government to trim the workforce and have been insulted by people who think I am callous for asking the government to release people to the streets without any job.

Look at the Ghana Telecom example. When it was under the government, it had 6500 workers and was losing $50 million a year. Vodafone bought it, reduced the workforce by 4200. With only 2300 workers, Fodafone is now profitable. Every party that has ruled the country increase the government workforce to accommodate party supporters even when they are not needed.

The SSSS policy initiated by Npp was politically implemented by Ndc without thinking about the financial implications. You cannot tripple workers wages without any increase in production. No economy can survive when you are using between 50-58 percent of your revenue to pay workers alone. The SSSS policy has wrecked a havoc on the economy.

Third, the huge government debt of $25 billion is not helping either. We are paying 4.7 billion interest on this debt every year and that is 25 percent of our budget outlay paying only interest on our debt.

The IMF will suggest a bitter pill for us to swallow. The government due to political reasons is not willing to address the problem putting bandages on wounds that need amputations and IMF will amputate our stealing hands for us.
SARPONG 11 years ago

Message for Mojingles.

Message for Mojingles.
mojingles 11 years ago

Yes, Sar, we have a huge problem on our hands....I wonder what precisely can be done to bring immediate relief to our suffering brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts and grannies. Perhaps, it is time for the two major politi ...
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Yes, Sar, we have a huge problem on our hands....I wonder what precisely can be done to bring immediate relief to our suffering brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts and grannies. Perhaps, it is time for the two major political parties to shelf their interests and work together otherwise things will veer out of hand completely...but will this ever happen in Ghana at all where politics is just as toxic as playing with a cobra.
LONTO-BOY 11 years ago

The fact is that Ghana turning once again to the IMF for a bailout shows how this country has been poorly managed by this NDC Government. Ghana's current economic woes have been caused by persistent incompetence and mismanage ...
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The fact is that Ghana turning once again to the IMF for a bailout shows how this country has been poorly managed by this NDC Government. Ghana's current economic woes have been caused by persistent incompetence and mismanagement, staggering corruption, the unjustifiable and unsustainable Single Spine Salary Structure, and wasteful government spending.

Yes, many people will find it mind-boggling that Ghana has oil which could actually generate billions in revenue, yet Ghana is seeking for IMF bailout. Unfortunately, Ghana at this stage, cannot rely on the oil alone as a factor for the country's economic sustainability and growth.

By turning to the IMF, Ghana will have to meet strict conditions, which will force the Government's hand to cut public expenditure, increase taxation, remove all subsidies, and sell some state assets. Obviously, Ghanaians will feel the pain.
Abeeku Mensah 11 years ago

Let me give you an applicable analogy, Kofi, to make it clear there is no foul or contradiction with IMF prowling through our finances. Imagine a British middle income family that have gone lacking in the finest things in l ...
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Let me give you an applicable analogy, Kofi, to make it clear there is no foul or contradiction with IMF prowling through our finances. Imagine a British middle income family that have gone lacking in the finest things in life despite working hard year after year to stay above water. Imagine also what happens to those middle income and poor families who have been known to have won large sums through lottery. With very few exceptions almost all go broke within 5years of their biggest payday in life. Ghana has oil but Ghana had all the mineral, natural and human resources that could have made us a great and prosperous nation and we blew it after the fateful 1966 coup from which we have not and will never recover. When fools are free to roam there is bound to be chaos and indiscipline. If it takes IMF to tell small boys and minds in Ghana how to spend and balance our cheque books then so be it. We have had a chance since 1966 to let anyone with classroom earned credentials have a go at the country and they've all failed. There is a difference between people who think they can and people who can do and the people who think they can are almost always envious of the few who can and so was the case between Nkrumah who can and the Busia-Danquah ideologues who couldn't. It is time for IMF to save us from ourselves before its too late.
SARPONG 11 years ago

Idiot, it was Nkrumah who first bankcrupted Ghana and sent us to IMF just six years after becoming the leader. If you lay a weak foundation this is what you get.

Nkrumah administration started corruption in Ghana and the m ...
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Idiot, it was Nkrumah who first bankcrupted Ghana and sent us to IMF just six years after becoming the leader. If you lay a weak foundation this is what you get.

Nkrumah administration started corruption in Ghana and the mental enslavement you still continue to have.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 11 years ago

Abeeku, I am finding it difficult to appreciate why you use the word Hogwash, when you have repeated some of the reasons in the articles as to why Ghana is going to the IMF. What is hogwash about the contents of the article? ...
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Abeeku, I am finding it difficult to appreciate why you use the word Hogwash, when you have repeated some of the reasons in the articles as to why Ghana is going to the IMF. What is hogwash about the contents of the article? Could we debate the contents of the article or issues rather than name calling?
Mr. Mister 11 years ago

That is a misconception. The oil belongs to the oil companies. Ghana gets royalties. And those future royalties have been collateralized for loans.

That is a misconception. The oil belongs to the oil companies. Ghana gets royalties. And those future royalties have been collateralized for loans.

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“IMF Bailout Hurts Most Because Ghana Has Oil”

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