IMF facility is not a loan agreement – James Klutse

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• Edus 10 years ago

  Ghana takes an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) from the IMF on April 3, 2015 and this joker is telling us it is not a loan. Here's the definition of the ECF - The Extended Credit Facility provides financial assistance to coun ...
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  Ghana takes an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) from the IMF on April 3, 2015 and this joker is telling us it is not a loan. Here's the definition of the ECF - The Extended Credit Facility provides financial assistance to countries with protracted balance of payments problems. The ECF was created under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) as part of a broader reform to make the Fund’s financial support more flexible and better tailored to the diverse needs of LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES (LICs), including in times of crisis. The ECF succeeds the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) as the Fund’s main tool for providing medium-term support to LICs, with higher levels of access to financial resources, more concessional financing terms, more flexible program design features, as well as streamlined and more focused conditionality.
  Financing under the ECF carries a zero interest rate through end-2016, with a grace period of 5½ years, and a final maturity of 10 years. The Fund reviews the level of interest rates for concessional facilities under the PRGT every two years, with the next review expected to take place in end-2016. GHANA IS GOING TO PAY BACK, STUPID M.P., IT IS A LOAN!

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• United Ghana 10 years ago

  That's the problem with this useless govt - they take Ghanaians for fools. No doubt the self-serving sycophants would argue otherwise. We can only hope the judge who may sit on the case is "clean"

  That's the problem with this useless govt - they take Ghanaians for fools. No doubt the self-serving sycophants would argue otherwise. We can only hope the judge who may sit on the case is "clean"

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• Paapidi 10 years ago

  Tell the whole Ghana if the $918 million is a gift. what kind of hogwash is this. Oh NDC, Ghana is finished!

  Tell the whole Ghana if the $918 million is a gift. what kind of hogwash is this. Oh NDC, Ghana is finished!

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• Kwabena 10 years ago

  James please don't disgrace your profession. If it is not a loan, what is it? Mr Markin keep up the good work.

  James please don't disgrace your profession. If it is not a loan, what is it? Mr Markin keep up the good work.

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• Uncle Pee 10 years ago

  You can use any parliamentary jargon you want, whether it's a "facility" or a loan. The fact remains that it is not free and would have to be repaid by the taxpayer with substantial interest. It's time for politicians to resp ...
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  You can use any parliamentary jargon you want, whether it's a "facility" or a loan. The fact remains that it is not free and would have to be repaid by the taxpayer with substantial interest. It's time for politicians to respect the Taxpayer's money and not treat them as government's money!!!! Parliament is there to ensure that the taxpayer's purse is managed judiciously.

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• CONCERNED CITIZEN 10 years ago

  Brazil pays dearly for political crisis as S&P cuts status to ‘junk’
  
  Protesters outside the Petrobras headquarters in Rio. A corruption scandal at the state oil firm has sparked political turmoil
  Leo Correa/AP
  Post a ...
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  Brazil pays dearly for political crisis as S&P cuts status to ‘junk’
  
  Protesters outside the Petrobras headquarters in Rio. A corruption scandal at the state oil firm has sparked political turmoil
  Leo Correa/AP
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  A man shouts slogans during a protest in front of Petrobras headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  Protesters outside the Petrobras headquarters in Rio. A corruption scandal at the state oil firm has sparked political turmoil Leo Correa/AP
  Philip Aldrick Economics Editor
  Published at 12:01AM, September 11 2015
  Brazilian markets slumped and its currency tumbled yesterday after a credit ratings agency downgraded the standard bearer for emerging markets amid concern about its debt and political divisions.
  The real dived by nearly 3 per cent against the dollar, a 13-year low, before the central bank intervened to prop it up. The Bovespa index slid by 2 per cent on opening before recovering the lost ground. Credit default swaps, which measure the cost of insuring government debt, jumped to the highest level in six and a half years.
  Brazil’s loss of its cherished investment grade was not unexpected, but Standard & Poor’s downgrade to junk status came far earlier than had been predicted and was seen as “aggressive” by traders. S&P lowered its rating from BBB minus to BB plus with a negative outlook, raising the prospect of another cut.
  The agency cited fears of spiralling public debt after the government abandoned its deficit reduction plans in the face of resistance in congress and amid political turmoil sparked by a corruption scandal at Petrobras, the state-backed oil group.
  It had put Brazil on negative watch in July but cut the rating after the government backtracked on austerity plans unveiled six weeks ago to eliminate the primary budget deficit next year.
  “[This] would mean three consecutive years of a primary deficit and net general debt continuing to rise if subsequent revenue or expenditure measures are not taken,” S&P said. The overall deficit is expected to reach 8 per cent of GDP this year and next.
  President Rousseff had pledged to address the public finances after being re-elected last year, but she has struggled to command congress as politicians have been dragged into the scandal at Petrobras, which is alleged to have paid more than $2 billion in bribes.
  The president was the chairwoman of Petrobras during much of the period being investigated. Approval for her and the government has fallen to 10 per cent and there is a possibility that she could be impeached.
  “The ongoing investigations of corruption allegations against high-profile individuals and companies . . . have led to increased near-term political uncertainty,” S&P said. “They have weakened near-term political cohesion and coalition dynamics. Stressed coalition dynamics between the Workers’ Party and the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party augur poorly for approval of needed fiscal adjustment measures, even with a relaxed fiscal target.”
  Once a beacon of emerging markets’ growth, Latin America’s largest economy slumped into recession in the second quarter and is expected to contract by 2.5 per cent this year and 0.5 per cent in 2016.
  An ill-judged public spending programme knocked finances just as China started slowing, sucking demand out of Brazil’s commodity-rich economy. At the same time, the prospect of higher US interest rates sparked a flight of foreign capital. Higher rates and a weaker currency have made it harder to service domestic and dollar-denominated debt.
  President Rousseff had attempted to address concern about the finances by appointing Joaquim Levy, a hawkish economist trained in Chicago, as her finance minister. Mr Levy responded to the S&P downgrade by saying that the government would table new austerity measures to guarantee a primary budget surplus in 2016.

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• kweks 10 years ago

  Npp you can go to court. We are tired of your waste of time and crab nature. Too much unnecessary things. Be careful we dont replace you as minority with PNC ooo
  Yooo!!!

  Npp you can go to court. We are tired of your waste of time and crab nature. Too much unnecessary things. Be careful we dont replace you as minority with PNC ooo
  Yooo!!!

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• WINTER WILLIAMS 10 years ago

  And look he smiling taking loans he has no resources to pay back. Awurade

  And look he smiling taking loans he has no resources to pay back. Awurade

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