Former Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has categorically stated that he will as Finance Minister park the country’s economy at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In an interview with Accra-based Citi TV on July 5, the former Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee argued that the country’s economy is better managed under a Fund programme.
He also stressed that it was more prudent for the country to be borrowing from the Fund than the open market.
He explained further, that it was more prudent to borrow from the IMF because loans contracted from the Fund attracted zero interest.
“I argue that when the IMF are in town, we get things done right. If you go back to the programme we had under Atta Mills 2009 – 2012….fantastic. the macro indices at the time, the best we have seen in a longtime between 2009 and 2012. The moment the Fund left in 2012, everything went berserk. If I were Finance Minster I’ll park the economy at IMF,” Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah said.
“The IMF is like the Bank of Ghana to all countries…you fall on them for assistance. We borrow on a weekly basis. This Friday, there will be an auction, we will borrow about GH₵1 billion.
“Last week we borrowed. Every Friday we go for auction at the Bank of Ghana, we borrow money. We borrow at 27% [interest rate]. If you go to the Fund and they give you $1 billion, it will be interest-free…0%. They will give you a moratorium and give us 25 years to repay,” he explained further.
Background
President Akufo-Addo on July 1 ordered the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to begin formal engagements with the Fund.
The move has since divided public opinion. While some welcomed the decision, others have criticized the government for not remaining committed to its decision not to return to the Fund earlier.
Meanwhile, an IMF team has arrived in the country to begin initial engagement processes. The team is led by Carlo Sdralevich, who is the mission chief for the country.
Mr Sdralevich in statement said: “The IMF stands ready to assist Ghana to restore macroeconomic stability, safeguard debt sustainability, and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, and address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic.”
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Mark paaaa, why won't your party apply to the IMF to provide us with a minister of finance, their national service personnel could also come in as the economic management team. You see dogs don't kick, they bite. When you see a dog kicking, just know it has lost the fight. If it's true our economy performs better when it is the under IMF, then let's allow the IMF to manage the economy for us. So why blame Mahama when he went to the same IMF in 2015. You people are justifying all the actions Mahama took as president, no wonder he's the most popular politician in Ghana currently trending. It's like we over rated Akuffo Addo and his appointees. They are complete disaster, so Akuffo Addo was all over the country begging us to try him for him to send us to the IMF, was that what he meant by ' I the i will serve you differently' . True to his words, he has come to serve Ghana differently. Well done for doing what Napoleon could not do. The 'Moses' of our time has sent us to the promised land . Nana oooo Nana, the best man for Ghana.
Master, y3te sika so.
An admission that Ghanaian politicians are not capable of managing the country's economy. Question then is, what do you need power for if you can't manage. We now understand, it's because of V8, exgratia, foreign travels, kickbacks, free water, electricity, fuel, accommodation. You people are a big disappointment. All our peers are overtaking us.
I do not think the IMF wants countries to approach them for bailouts. They would rather be appreciative if countries could generate their own funds to solve their own problems. It would therefore appear ill-intentioned if the IMF reprimanded finance ministers in the second instance of accessing their assistance or bailouts. The able finance minister tried with the E-levy to generate funds, but unfortunately, the process is not responding quickly enough to meet the planned targets. I believe the E-levy initiative might kick in later to create additional financial space for the economy.