IMF, NPP Govt In a Marriage of Lies To Cover Economic Failures

Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Isaac Adongo has accused the International Monetary Fund of conniving with the Akufo-Addo government to mollify the bad state of the country’s economy.

In an interview on Accra based Citi FM’s ‘Eye Witness News’ Hon. Adongo who is also the MP for Bolgatanga  Central said the IMF is watering down the true state of mess in a bid not to create fear and panic.

“The IMF is managing the situation so that they do not create fear and panic that will further exacerbate the issue. It is very clear that, the Ghanaian economy was already suffering internal and external vulnerability before COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war”, he said on Eyewitness News.

This was in response to recent reports that the IMF had said that the cause of the country’s economic woes is COVID-19 and the Russia, Ukraine war.

Hon. Adongo accused the NPP government of double standards, pointing out that the same people who accused the Mahama government of incompetence because it had gone to the IMF are now saying the issue should not be debated.

“I want to say that the NPP should bow its head in shame for bringing us here. They want to now use PR and connive with the IMF to double speak. The truth is that, they have mismanaged the economy because the IMF has a dossier from 2019 that the country was heading in the wrong direction”, he stressed

He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should not be forgiven for its comments made against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for seeking an IMF bailout in the past.

“It is dishonesty for people who have profited from propaganda; people who have come to power on the back of the deception of the Ghanaian people that going to IMF defines incompetence, to now be turning around to say that we should not have that debate. Didn’t Dr. Bawumia describe John Mahama with unprintable words for taking Ghana to the IMF?”

On the same channel, however, Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Kweku Kwarteng asked critics of government’s quest to seek a bailout from the IMF to be measured and support the move.

“Why are we preoccupied with this? What kind of discussions do we want to have about the economy right now? I believe that our economy has been challenged but as we grow, we should learn and begin to have discussions that will make this 17th appearance, the last one. Why can’t we put those fundamental issues taking us to the IMF on the table? Why turn the debate into a blame game?  Let’s correct things and focus on having helpful debates”.

Ghana returned to the IMF for support after months of struggle with the economy and a cost of living crisis, and is expecting $3 billion from the IMF.