Talks With IMF On Track � Kwesi Botchwey

The leader of the government�s negotiating team with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Professor Kwesi Botchwey, has stated that negotiations with the fund are very much on track. He told newsmen yesterday that apart from a few residual information and statistical issues that remained to be resolved, the government and the IMF were reviewing key issues on the 2015 Budget. �Once this has been completed, I expect, and I�m confident, that the fund�s mission will then launch the internal review processes that will culminate in the IMF Board's consideration,� he said. Prof. Botchwey, a former Minister of Finance, said the government expected the approval of a programme with the IMF in the next few weeks. He described the negotiations as having gone well so far, considering the difficult challenges and the complex issues that needed to be addressed in the programme. That, he explained, was against the backdrop of President John Mahama�s concern for the programme to achieve the twin objectives of macroeconomic stability and employment generation during the programme period.