Gov’t: IMF Secateurs Won’t Touch Free SHS, Agenda 111

The Government of Ghana has assured that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout it is seeking is not going to affect important social interventions in the Health and educational sectors.

This means that the School Feeding Policy and the Free Senior High School policy and Agenda 111 of the government will not be affected by the IMF programme.

“IMF programmes are flexible in response to evolving circumstances. Ultimately, the IMF encourages governments in their programme to protect the poor or vulnerable groups from the impact of Fiscal adjustments.

“Free SHS and School Feeding programme, among others, are good social intervention programmes and it is the lack of financing and unsustainable debt burdens that could constrain the government’s ability to maintain its level of spending including social or investment spending”.

The government says the IMF will rather demand that the country cut non-priority spending such as white elephant projects to preserve priority social spending.

The government also noted that the IMF programme will not exacerbate the already-high unemployment rate in the country.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini