New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, is kicking against a possible renewal of the three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with the International Monetary Fund.
He said even President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is not happy about the extension but has been forced to accept it because of his ministers.
According to him, the IMF policies are tied to conditionalities that seek to cripple the foundations of industrialization which every nation that has ever developed in the world has taken seriously.
He believes the decision by the Akufo-Addo government to subscribe to the conditions of the IMF will have dire consequences of the party in 2020.
“The World Bank and the IMF conditionalities won’t help Ghana in anyway. These whites will only end up suppressing us with harsh conditions. I know Nana Addo is not happy about it but his ministers surrounding him are being difficult and pushing for this deal.
“If we should continue this deal till the 2020 elections, then we (NPP) will be in big trouble and can cost us the 2020 elections and so the President should act fast” he warned.
An IMF team recently concluded the review of data on the economy with the aim of using the findings to reach a conclusion on the direction Ghana should take on the facility.
Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Marfo, has also said the Fund’s conclusions will guide discussions on the programme, however, there are strong indications that the facility will be extended.
Ghana entered into the three-year program with the IMF on April 2015 for a total amount 918 million US dollars which was expected to be disbursed in eight equal tranches.
The programme aims to restore debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability in the country to foster a return to high growth and job creation while protecting social spending.
But speaking in an interview on Adom TV’s Morning Show “Badwam” Tuesday, the outspoken MP is of the firm conviction that the austere conditions attached to the deal will suppress employment in the public sector.
Kennedy Agyapong believe strongly that the state must hold majority shares in an important and strategic assets and not allow international bodies to take charge adding that that it was a mistake in the first place for Ghana to turn to the IMF.
Click on attached audio for more