Amidu raises alarm: Govt hiding behind IMF to force ‘austerity budget’ on Ghanaians

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, says government is scheming to use the International Monetary Fund(IMF) as a smokescreen to dump an austerity budget on Ghanaian citizens.

Mr Amidu has therefore urged patriots and crusading civil society organizations to insist and demand transparency and accountability from the government in the manner the negotiation with the IMF is being undertaken now.

“This year, the International Monetary Fund is to be the excuse for Ghanaians being asked to tighten their belts while the political elite loosen theirs and feed fat on our sweat. We should not wait for the IMF to be used by the authors of our economic hardships to blackmail the nation and ram an austerity budget down our throats without any consultation for our inputs into and acceptance of the proposals. We have a duty to ask for transparency and accountability now. The 1992 Constitution gives us the right to do so and put Ghana First,” he wrote in a statement.

The Finance Minister is upbeat that the negotiation with the IMF “will be fast-tracked to ensure that key aspects of the programme are reflected in the 2023 Annual Budget Statement in November 2022.”

Mr Ofori-Atta has also disclosed that a team of government officials will from this weekend travel to Washington, DC in USA for two weeks to continue negotiations with the Fund to fast-track the deal.

But the former Special Prsoecutor argued the People are entitled to know the content of the dialogue with the Bretton Woods Institution billed to form part of the Minister for Finance’s 2023 Budget Statement to Parliament.

He said the government has refused to be guided by the resistance its unpopular economic policies such as the E-levy were met with in the past.

“In the November 2021 Budget for the year 2022, this government rammed down our throats the E-Levy that went to Parliament without any prior consultation with the generality of the people and stakeholders. It is an understatement to say that a majority of Ghanaians were against the E-Levy but with arrogance and impunity the government corruptly bought its way with the political elite to approve and enact the E-Levy into law. The consequent reaction from Ghanaians is there for all to see how successful a reception that policy received and is receiving.” Martin Amidu added.