National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) Director-General (DG), Kodjo Essiam Mensah Abrampa, says the President chose to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without informing or taking advice from the NDPC.
Dr Abrampa, however, expressed optimism that the move to the IMF will yield positive results – provided Ghana negotiates well and implements the agreed implementation roadmap faithfully.
On July 1, President Akufo-Addo announced that he had instructed his Finance Minister to formally initiate negotiations with the Washington D.C.-based IMF for bailout from the country’s current spiralling inflation, attendant high costs of living and depleted import cover.
That was the 17th time sovereign Ghana was running to the IMF for relief.
This move, however, met a lot of furore from across the country, what-with the Akufo-Addo regime having earlier ‘sworn’ umpteen times it would never go to the IMF.
Nnawotwe Yi on Adom TV, featured the DG of the NDPC which is charged to do national economic planning into the future, advise the President in that regard and is also supposed to be consulted by the President on major moves on the economy.
Nnawotwe Yi host Chief Jerry Forson asked whether President Akufo-Addo consulted the NDPC…
“If for the 16 times Ghana went to the IMF, the institution couldn’t help Ghana develop beyond getting broke, will the 17th time do the magic?, Nnawotwe Yi asked the GNPC boss.
His answer was that the IMF is for relief, and, not for development.
In connection with the same near-economic crisis and the return to the IMF, Ex-President Dramani Mahama had asked for the head of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Asked pointedly to endorse or reject Mahama’s call, Dr Abrampa dithered a bit and, later, said Mr Ofori-Atta remains the President’s best choice to lead Ghana into IMF and the best to be in charge of the Treasury.