We can’t wait to end IMF program – Osafo-Marfo

Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Marfo has echoed governments’ resolution to terminate the three-year arrangement for the extension of a $918 million credit facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The extension of the facility by one year came a few weeks after President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that his government was not going to extend the programme which his party criticised while in opposition.

President John Mahama’s administration signed the deal with the Bretton Woods institution in a bid to restore debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability.

But Senior Minister Osafo-Marfo stated that the conditions including a National Public Sector Reform which necessitated the extension are very basic requirements that every country should enforce with or without the IMF recommendation.

“We want to come out of the IMF programme quickest so we need to meet some levels of the Public Sector Reforms. The IMF needs not to tell us we need an efficient public sector, we need it because its government machinery to function. We know need it not for the satisfaction of the IMF but to our own satisfaction.”

Mr. Osafo-Maafo was speaking at the Stakeholders’ validation workshop on the draft National Public Sector Reform Strategy held at Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.

Public Sector Reform

Senior Minister, Osafo-Maafo bemoaned the slow pace of administrative service delivery which characterizes operations among public enterprises despite the large number of public servants employees.

According to Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the reform will serve as a manual to correct the shortfalls in the administrative service delivery by building effective and efficient government machinery.

“The Public Sector Reform will sanitize the physical work environment of public servants and make available the needed tools and resources to engender a world class service delivery performance,” He said.