Homegrown solutions better than IMF bailout – TUC to gov’t

The outgoing General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Kofi Asamoah, has bemoaned government’s decision to always seek bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as against home grown solutions.

According to Mr Asamoah, Ghana has the requisite trained personnel with the expertise which can solve the country’s problems without imposition of stiffer controls on the country.

Speaking at a ceremony in Kumasi on Wednesday, he indicated that the weak nature of Ghana’s economy has taken a huge toll on the livelihoods of the people. A new General Secretary takes over from Mr Asamoah.

The government has been severely criticised for turning to the IMF for a bailout programme, which is expected to among other things, improve the economy and strengthen it in the face of the challenges facing it.

Some civil society organisations and public sector workers have lashed out at government for accepting what they term “harsh conditions’ which have been imposed on Ghanaians.

Public Sector Employment in some sectors were frozen, spending within budget, especially in an election year were some of the conditions the country had to abide by or face the wrath of the IMF.

The IMF bailout according to Mr Asamoah, has not benefited Ghana in anyway, noting it has rather tightened the grip on an already tough economy. He said government should cancel the agreement and turn to homegrown policies and ideas which are potent enough to save the economy.