President John Dramani Mahama has stated that Ghana’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme had significantly deviated from its agreed targets before his administration assumed office, requiring urgent corrective measures to restore confidence in the country’s economic recovery efforts.
Addressing a town hall meeting with members of the Ghanaian diaspora in London on Sunday, May 31, President Mahama said his government inherited an IMF-supported programme that had gone “completely off track.”
“We have just emerged from the Extended Credit Facility, which is an IMF programme,” the President told participants. “The government had entered into the IMF programme before, but it had gone completely off track. The programme was completely derailed.”
According to President Mahama, when his administration took office, the next IMF review was scheduled for April. He said a technical team from the Fund subsequently engaged government officials to assess the country’s performance under the programme.
“When we sat together, everything that government had agreed with them was off track,” he said, adding that the situation required difficult policy decisions to bring the programme back on course.
The President acknowledged the economic hardships endured by Ghanaians during the adjustment process but expressed optimism that the measures undertaken were beginning to produce positive outcomes.
“Sometimes you have to take bitter medicine before you get better,” he said. “I’m happy to say that the sacrifices that Ghanaians made have paid off.”
President Mahama’s remarks come amid ongoing efforts by the government to stabilize the economy, improve fiscal discipline, and sustain gains made under Ghana’s engagement with the IMF.
The town hall meeting formed part of the President’s engagement with Ghanaian communities abroad, during which he provided updates on the state of the economy and the government’s development agenda.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
