A leading member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Kwame Jantuah has said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in a dilemma on whether to give Ghana a bailout or not.
The Africa Pulse Report by the World Bank has placed Ghana’s debt at a frightening percentage level.
According to the World Bank’s report for October 2022, Ghana’s debt will jump to 104.6 percent of GDP, from 76.6 percent a year earlier, by the close of this year 2022.
Commenting on IMF issues during the Weekly Review Segment on Starr FM, Mr. Jantuah believes that factors such as what the World Bank has disclosed will bring some hesitancy on the part of the Fund.
“If the World Bank finds in their calculation that our debt is not sustainable, because there are other debts that we are not adding to the national debt and the IMF is working with data. If they add those other international debts and it goes way above this over 400 billion we are not going to get a pesewa from the IMF.
“But remember the IMF is in a dilemma. I don’t think the Finance Minister should have led this negotiation. The Finance Minister tells us that he is hurrying the process so that we will get a result by November. But this cannot be hurried if the IMF does not have the requisite data they are looking for they will not hurry it. So he shouldn’t be telling us that,” Mr. Jantuah advised.
He continued: “He shouldn’t be raising our hopes because some people will go by what he is saying and it doesn’t help. At this point let’s all come down home and take this thing together step by step. It will be egg on the Finance Minister’s face if by November which he is predicting the IMF doesn’t come through.”
The CPP member further advised that the government must give itself some time for a good package for the nation with the IMF.
“Because this is the 18th time we are going to the IMF and look at all the 17 we have been there and look at what happens anytime we come out of the program. We’ve always gone back to get it again,” Mr. Jantuah added.