Akufo-Addo led economy was sinking – Alan on why government resorted to IMF

Former Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has indicated that Ghana had no choice but to resort to the International Monetary Fund for support.

He says that where Ghana’s debt levels had skyrocketed and the state’s international reserves at the Central Bank were low, it was imperative that Ghana needed some cushion.

“We went to the IMF, and they agreed to have a package of support for us. Part of the condition was for us to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio from 105% to 55%. The condition to expect from you to be able to enjoy a bailout is for you to bring your debt to sustainable levels.

It was very obvious that we had overextended ourselves as a country. However, If we had prioritized my calls for Industrialization and the kind of things that I’m talking about now in my GTP, it would have provided a basis for a resilient economy,” he said.

Alan Kyerematen acknowledged that the Russian-Ukraine war and COVID-19 had lasting effects on the economy of Ghana.

“These two external factors exposed the structural vulnerabilities in our economy. There are matured economies that suffered the impact of the same external shocks but were able to deal with the shock much better because they have resilient economies.

"In our case the fact that we are not exporting enough and producing enough, the fact that we end up importing all the things we can produce in this country creates a certain challenge for our economy to withstand external shocks.”