Exercise Fiscal Prudence And Implement Economic Reforms: IMF MD Tells Akufo-Addo

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has admonished the government to exercise fiscal prudence and implement economic reforms aimed at promoting long-term prosperity for its citizens.

The Managing Director of the international Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva highlighted the essence of building upon the progress made thus far under the three-year, three billion-dollar extended credit facility to promote inclusive growth.

She said, “Your growth is better expected, your inflation is lower than expected, the progress in debt restructuring has been faster than expected and now the task is to cement what has been achieved and do it with the unity of this country”.

During a meeting with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House over the weekend, Madam Georgieva, acknowledged the strength of Ghana’s economy but cautioned the government to remain vigilant to maintain the recovery process.

“It is the year to bring confidence in Ghana domestically and internationally at the level it was before. It is possible because we are seeing a world slightly better, so the economic attributes are better, and the critical resource of money will go where confidence in the capacity to perform is highest. So Ghana can be in this place, as it was before. We need to stay the course, Ghana has achieved in a short time of the programme – good indicators,” she emphasised.

President Akufo-Addo mentioned that Ghana’s decision to seek a balance of payment support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has yielded positive results.

According to the President, the recent decline in inflation and the stability of the local currency was because the government took a bold step to seek for the IMF support programme, expressing satisfaction with the outcomes of the bailout.

He said, “The dire circumstances in which we were at the time that we took that very difficult decision and where we are today is a very clear testimony that our decision to seek your support is a decision that was correct, and we have had some benefits from it.”