‘Facts are sacred, but comment is free’ – Ghana’s President on IMF negotiations

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appealed to the Ghanaian media to be circumspect in their reporting on the government's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"Information regarding the process is readily available at the Ministries of Finance and Information," he said, and advised the media not to fall prey to any misinformation.

"As natural as it should, there will be those who pursue the narrow partisan end to spew untruth about these measures.

"The ultimate goal is to create disaffection among the Ghanaian people," President Nana Akufo-Addo told the media at a 'Dinner Night', organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra.

The IMF and Ghana have reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms to be supported by a new three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of about US$3 billion.

The authorities' strong reform programme aims at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, preserving financial stability, and laying the foundation for a strong and inclusive recovery.

To support the objective of restoring public debt sustainability, the authorities have launched a comprehensive debt operation.

In addition to frontloaded fiscal consolidation and measures to reduce inflation and rebuild external buffers, the programme envisages wide-ranging reforms to address structural weaknesses and enhance resilience to shocks.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said the collaboration with the IMF was meant to get the nation out of her current economic predicament.

He said the government had stepped up efforts to ensure economic stability for the benefit of the Ghanaian people.