Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, has described as a low blow the suggestion of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government should go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for debt relief.
According to him, the opposition NDC should rather have come out with an alternative policy or an economic programme that can change the current economic challenge confronting the nation rather than suggesting IMF bailout.
"I think that is a low blow, they should not even have gone there. If you are an opposition party and you are going to talk about an alternative policy or economic programme, we want to see new ideas and innovations that you think can change the current economic challenge. But don’t tell us to go to the IMF,” he stated.
He explained that the issue of debt is a global phenomenon as no country in the world is discussing its debt apart from Ghana in this Covid-19 pandemic era. He added that every country is rather adding on to their debts in order to shore up the economy and sustain their people.
“ . . every country at this moment as we speak is not discussing their debts, and Ghana through President Akufo-Addo has been commended for putting proper financial measures in place in this Covid-19 pandemic era, and so I am surprised that the NDC at this time wants to make the debt issue political,” he said.
“I am challenging the NDC to come out and tell us which country in the world at this Covid-19 pandemic is not adding on to their debts? It is a global phenomenon,” he dared.
Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, John Kumah reiterated that the NDC should be the last to suggest IMF as the means for debt relief as they run down the economy in 2015 and had to resort to IMF for a $918 million dollar loan.
He added that President Akufo-Addo within 18 months in office took the country out of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionality; stressing that the conditionality of the IMF is not good for any country as it denies countries from employing graduates and even sometimes lay-off workers.
“We have a lot of laws like fiscal responsibility act that shows that you cannot exceed the expenditure of 5 per cent in terms of deficit to your GDP . . . we have given ourselves a target that by 2024, we will back into our fiscal consolidation measures that will not exceed that 5 per cent,” he said.
Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com
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