Assibey-Yeboah Hails Talks With IMF

A Spokesman on the economy for the Minority in Parliament, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has welcomed the move by the government to seek the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other development partners to stabilise the economy. He, however, warned that austerity measures could inflict hardship on ordinary Ghanaians. "The IMF support will come with conditions that will demand that the government adopt additional measures to fight inflation. The fund will also demand a freeze on wages," he said. "But in all, the benefits will still outweigh the downside, so it's a step in the right direction," Dr Assibey-Yeboah, who is the Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, said in an interview quoted on Reuters. Ms Razia Khan, the Head of Africa Research at Standard Chartered Bank, said she expected news of talks with the IMF to be positively received by financial markets. "An IMF programme will likely give to investors that additional level of confidence that fiscal consolidation may be pursued more seriously," she said. She noted that Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer, had seen its Eurobond prices rise as investors welcomed the government's decision in June to approach the IMF for help in stabilising its currency and economy. "However, news of potential talks with the IMF is unlikely to be enough, on its own, to make a meaningful difference to the cedi just yet," Ms Kham told Reuters.