Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has advised Ghanaians to reduce their expectations in the President regarding the IMF deal.
He said the President has caused Ghanaians so much harm which will have a long-term effect on the country.
“Ghanaians should not have any huge expectations of President Nana Addo Dankwa and his promises on getting the economy on track, probably he himself doesn’t even appreciate the magnitude of the problem he has created.”
“He’s done irreparable damage to the Ghanaian economy, private enterprise to industry, and it will linger on for the next four to five years,” he said.
According to him, what the president said about some benefits Ghana will derive from the IMF deal including being able to access the International Capital Market are false.
“The President owe Ghanaians a certain truthfulness and he must speak with candor, it is not possible, under the programme signed by them, 2024, 2025, 2026, Ghana will not be able to access Eurobonds until 2027,” he said.
Mr. Iddrisu indicated that ongoing projects are likely to suffer financing problems considering the current state of the economy, and he also projected that Ghana might go through another Debt Exchange Programme in 2027/2028.
“Ghanaians must be interested in the quality of ongoing projects that are likely to suffer financing problems.”
“Indeed without any fear of contradiction, I anticipate that in 2027/2028, Ghana will have to go through another Debt Exchange Programme,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo during a national address on Sunday, said that the IMF agreement would aid in restoring confidence in the Ghanaian economy, which has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
“It should lead to the restoration of confidence and the reopening of opportunities that have been closed to us this past year and a half,” Akufo-Addo explained, emphasizing that it would also result in the resumption of stalled infrastructure projects.
The President reiterated that the successful implementation of the necessary reforms to make the deal effective would require the support of all Ghanaians.
“We must all collaborate to ensure the success of this programme,” Akufo-Addo urged. “Together, we must work towards building a brighter future for Ghana.”
