There Is Nothing Wrong With Going To IMF, Gov’t Must Consider-Mark Assibey Yeboah

Member of Parliament for New Juaben Constituency during the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, Mark Assibey Yeboah says the government of Ghana led by President Akufo-Addo should consider turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help resolve the country’s deteriorating economic and financial status.

“We are in a big hole and we are facing difficulty so going to the Fund will give us some support. There is nothing wrong with going to the Fund. We are members of the IMF. The IMF has 190 members of which Ghana is one and they pull resources from these 190 members so that when you have difficulty, you just go to them and borrow from the pulled resources. There is nothing wrong with going to the fund”, he explained.

He observes that a negative perception has been carved around seeking financial assistance from the IMF.

“There is a perception out there that going to the Fund is not the right thing to do. President Kuffour was there in 2001, President Mills was there in 2009, We were there in 2015.

Speaking in an interview with CNR monitored by opemsuo.com, the former Chairman on the Finance Committee of Parliament indicated that he would convince the President to go to the IMF for help if he were the Finance Minister.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, meanwhile, has vowed not to go to the international financial institution despite the country’s drowning “financial boat”.

He maintains that the E-levy, just like other taxes and levies introduced, won’t be able to solve the financial problems of the country.

“About 90% of our tax revenue is paying wages and salaries so we are only left with about 10%. In March last year, we came up with four new tax measures. We have mobilised only two million from that, we were back last November with a new one; e-levy. If we continue on this path, I can predict that in the next budget, there will be another levy”, he noted.

Turning to the IMF, he said, will boost policy credibility for investors who hold Ghana paper and also secure Ghana a three billion dollar fund from the financial giant.

He was confident that Ghana was not getting any more freebies from the IMF after it gave the country one billion dollars for free in 2020 and another one billion dollars for free in 2021.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini