Government U-turn on IMF deal disappointing – Forson

The promise of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to end the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in April 2018 only to turn their backs to extend it by another one year to 2019, is condemnable, former Deputy Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, has said.

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee is demanding an apology from government over what he considers as disappointing after several assurances from President Akufo-Addo that they will end the programme started by the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“Clearly it departs from what they communicated to the public, they say one thing and do another, and I don’t think it is good enough. I am disappointed, I was of the view that the government at this point in time would have accepted that the President and Minister of Finance erred…,” he told Class News in an interview on Wednesday, August 31.

The IMF announced it has extended its Credit Facility program with the Government of Ghana after the successful fourth review of the Extended Credit Facility by the IMF board. The board approved a $94million disbursement under the program extension.

Ghana’s agreement with the IMF for economic assistance in 2015 was expected to end in 2018.

The latest development however, is a departure from the government’s initial stance of not extending the program after it had expired.