‘We’re ready to help stabilise Ghana’s economy’ – IMF boss says after meeting with Ken Ofori-Atta
The Chair and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova, says her outfit is willing to assist Ghana to put the country’s economy on a better footing.
The Bulgarian economist made this known in a tweet on Friday, August 26, 2022.
According to her, the IMF’s decision to support Ghana stems from a ‘constructive meeting’ she had with Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and his team.
The meeting, she disclosed bordered on the challenges of Ghana’s economy and how to address them.
“Constructive meeting with [Ghana’s] Finance Minister Ofori-Atta & his team on Ghana’s economic challenges and the way forward.
We are ready to do our part to help the authorities stabilize the economy, lay the ground for stronger growth & help the most vulnerable”, the tweet said.
The assurances from the IMF Chair comes at a time when the country’s economic outlook appears to be in distress.
Currently, Ghana’s currency, the Ghana Cedi, is consistently depreciating against the US dollar at a fast rate which many citizens are lamenting about.
Inflation is also on the rise with the cost of living also on the high.
These factors, were amongst a list of considerations which compelled Ghana to seek assistance from the IMF on July 1, 2022.
In a statement by the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the move to go to the IMF is to help the global lender assist government in implementing some economic recovery prorgammes.
Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), and other civil society organisations have criticised Ghana’s request for an IMF bailout, describing it as an imprudent measure.
According to the critics, the country’s economic woes are based on the failure of government to deal with its internal mismanagement and corruption, and thus support from the IMF will amount to nothing.
JoyNews sources however reveal that, any assistance from the IMF will come in 2023 next year.
