It Was A Painful Decision For Me; Akufo-Addo On Going To IMF

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the decision to seek an International Monetary Fund Bailout was a “painful” one.

He directed the Minister for Finance to begin processes for a US$3 billion bailout in July last year after taking an entrenched position against it.

The government had vowed against going to the IMF and institutionalised several measures in 2022 when the country got locked out of the capital market with frequent downgrades from the international rating agencies.

The government, among other things, introduced the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), to mobilise some revenue to steer the affairs of the economy.

In his 29th national address to the nation on May 28, President Akufo-Addo said the “painful” step had to be taken for budgetary support.

“When things came to the state where I concluded that we had to go to the International Monetary Fund to access a facility for budgetary support, I gave directives to the Minister for Finance to start the process.

“It was a painful decision for me to take, because going to the IMF was not part of the economic transformation agenda I had been pursuing, especially as my government had gone the extra mile to bring to a successful end the IMF programme we inherited from the previous government.”

But he believes the decision was right since the country was in “extraordinary” times.

“We were in extraordinary times and we took extraordinary measures, and when faced with the realities of the economic crisis last year, I accepted the challenge that the economy required a similar attitude, including the sacrifices many of us have made in recent times.”

On May 17, 2023, the IMF approved the $3 billion loan for Ghana.

The first tranche of the facility totalling $600 million was credited to Ghana’s account on May 19.

Under the agreement, the Fund will spread the payment of the loan over 36 months under the Extended Fund Facility.