IMF: Is this free money or another debt trap for Ghana?

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• K.Opoku-London-UK 13 hours ago

  Who took Ghana to the IMF in 2022? It was Dr Messiah Bawumia and Ken Ofori Atta- cum Akuffo Addo- The NPP Economic Messiah-Dr Bawumia. Ghana has been to the IMF 18 times- Ghana has spend 40 years under the IMF conditions out ...
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  Who took Ghana to the IMF in 2022? It was Dr Messiah Bawumia and Ken Ofori Atta- cum Akuffo Addo- The NPP Economic Messiah-Dr Bawumia. Ghana has been to the IMF 18 times- Ghana has spend 40 years under the IMF conditions out of its 68 years history-Ghana IS A FAILED STATE. Dr Bawumia pls aren't you embarrassed by revelations at the PAC on revelations of crime committed by the very people u and Akuffo Addo appointed to run affairs of this country? What record are u going to defend. I have lost respect for you. A muslim without intergrity.
  The World Bank has pushed back against the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration’s long-held narrative that Ghana’s 2022 economic collapse was the result of global turmoil, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
  Bawumia was the Chairman of the Ghana National Economic Management Committee but he says that he was the Drivers Mate. How can a driver's mate do this when he claims he never had the chance to implement anything in government because the powers that be did not allow him. Yet he wants to claim credit for any good things that he never did yet will refuse to accept responsibility for any failure in their government. How stupid does this man think we are? You took the cedi from 4 to 17 and still had the audacity to tell us the rate of depreciation at that time was better than the previous NDC administration. What at all does this man take us for? Does he think we're stupid or what? Someone should tell this man that we haven't forgotten about the DDEP haircuts and surely we shall punish the npp again come 2028.
  
  It insisted that the economic meltdown was “homegrown”.
  
  In its latest 2025 Policy Notes on Ghana, the Bank made clear that while the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine worsened the situation, they were not the root cause.
  
  “The deterioration of global conditions… was not the cause of the 2022 macroeconomic crisis; rather, it merely exposed an economy already beset with deep structural vulnerabilities and precarious macroeconomic conditions,” the report said.
  
  The government has frequently blamed external shocks for the collapse, which saw inflation spiral, the cedi plummet, and the country default on its debt.
  
  But the World Bank said years of weak governance, fiscal indiscipline, and stalled reforms were the real culprits of Ghana's "dark days".
  
  Interbank Market: Cedi trades at GH¢12.35 to $1
  
  The bank also argued that the easy access to international credit and expectations of resource windfalls encouraged short-term political decisions at the expense of long-term stability.
  
  The report noted that the cycle of expansionary spending followed by painful corrections, one that has forced Ghana into 17 IMF programs over the past 68 years, is damaging.
  
  “Sudden macroeconomic stops and crises have led the country to request a record number of IMF programs, remaining under active IMF support for 40 out of its 68 years of history,” the Bank said.
  
  The report also noted that more than 800,000 people were pushed into poverty in the aftermath of the 2022 crisis, with per capita incomes stuck at around US$2,200 for over a decade.
  
  Today, more than a quarter of Ghanaians live below the poverty line, it noted.
  
  Looking ahead, the Bank also raised alarms about Ghana’s fiscal management in the 2024 election year.
  
  It flagged unbudgeted spending commitments of roughly US$4.8 billion, equivalent to 5.7% of GDP, much of it accumulated outside official financial systems.
  
  “Spending indiscipline poses a critical challenge…undermining efforts to maintain fiscal discipline and compromising long-term sustainability,” the report cautioned.
  
  Also, the energy sector arrears still cost around 2% of GDP annually, while COCOBOD’s debts reached US$1.8 billion in 2024, with interventions distorting markets and hurting farmers.
  
  The bank warned that Ghana now stands at a critical crossroads, and temporary fixes will not be enough.
  
  “There is an urgent need to signal a clear break from the past and a commitment to change… Success will ultimately be measured by the ability of the government to regain the trust of its citizens.”
  
  Its recommendations are focused on restoring fiscal discipline, broadening the tax base, reforming state-owned enterprises, and enhancing governance.
  
  Without decisive reforms, the World Bank cautions, Ghana risks remaining trapped in its cycle of crisis and bailouts for decades to come.
  
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• Ghana Biya 13 hours ago

  You could not have said it better than this. More grease to your elbors. The Sahelian nations are the most INDEPENT AND FREEIST in Africa. Until the rest of Africa emulate them, we can never claim to be free.
  
  We are alw ...
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  You could not have said it better than this. More grease to your elbors. The Sahelian nations are the most INDEPENT AND FREEIST in Africa. Until the rest of Africa emulate them, we can never claim to be free.
  
  We are always tied to the appendex of the west. Look at the shameful thing Tinubo did in recent days.

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• Benji 9 hours ago

  It is our money, NPP has already borrowed it. With this payment, we are at $2.83 out of $3 billion. There's still $0.17 billion left to collect.

  It is our money, NPP has already borrowed it. With this payment, we are at $2.83 out of $3 billion. There's still $0.17 billion left to collect.

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• ode 13 hours ago

  SO GHANA CAN NOT LEARN FROM BURKINA FASO WITH ALL THE GOLD WE HAVE NOW. THEY ARE BUILDING THEIR COUNTRY WITH ZORO LOAN

  SO GHANA CAN NOT LEARN FROM BURKINA FASO WITH ALL THE GOLD WE HAVE NOW. THEY ARE BUILDING THEIR COUNTRY WITH ZORO LOAN

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• Kwame 11 hours ago

  IMF is a poverty trap. No nation ever goes to IMF and resolve her economic problems.
  If IMF did not put you into debt trap how can it continue to loan you to make profits.
  How can the western economies control you economic ...
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  IMF is a poverty trap. No nation ever goes to IMF and resolve her economic problems.
  If IMF did not put you into debt trap how can it continue to loan you to make profits.
  How can the western economies control you economically and socially.

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• Boss 10 hours ago

  Really nice and thoughtful writeup. Lol, to our politicians, it is free money. Why because they only have 4 at most years and paying back will not happen within their time.

  Really nice and thoughtful writeup. Lol, to our politicians, it is free money. Why because they only have 4 at most years and paying back will not happen within their time.

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• jagadu 8 hours ago

  IMF does not give money. The IMF program was initiated by the NPP and the akufo-addo government and Mahama and the NDC cannot cancel the program once it starts until the end or exit the program and they decide not to renew th ...
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  IMF does not give money. The IMF program was initiated by the NPP and the akufo-addo government and Mahama and the NDC cannot cancel the program once it starts until the end or exit the program and they decide not to renew the IMF program. So yes, even though the economy is doing well, the Mahama and the NDC government has not borrowed any new money. NPP, stop the propaganda and state the facts. The NPP was the one who ran to the IMF for help. NDC inherited the program and they are only managing the program.

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• Yaa 1 hour ago

  And what do you think the NPP should say about the economic mess and the IMF program it inherited from NDC in 2017?

  And what do you think the NPP should say about the economic mess and the IMF program it inherited from NDC in 2017?

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