Economist questions government's fiscal discipline to manage IMF bailout

A US-based economist and lecturer, Dr. Sa-ad Iddrisu has called into question the government’s ability to effectively utilize the IMF bailout funds stating that it has over the years not demonstrated enough fiscal discipline to be trusted.

He said these while speaking on Accra-based JoyNews and was monitored by GhanaWeb.

According to him, the government's promise to utilize the funds adequately to revamp the economy raises a lot of concerns particularly leading into an election period.

“The first question I will really want to ask is, has the government demonstrated enough fiscal discipline for Ghanaians to trust it will manage the IMF funds well enough. Especially now that we are heaving into a presidential and parliamentary election in 2024. I think that is a major question every Ghanaian should be asking the government. Looking at how the government has spent or looking at how the government has managed our finances from 2017 all the way till now,” he said.

To Dr Iddrisu, the government over the years turns deaf ears to recommendations that would have prevented the country from going to the fund in the first place.

“Even the international community before the IMF asked the government to reduce its ministers, but the government did not do that. So many measures were being pushed out even by the international community and experts asking the government to cut down the cost on certain areas, the government gave deaf ears to it and never did those,” he added.

He believes that the government will have to do more prove to Ghanaians that this time around it will better manage the funds as it ought to.

“So, when you have such a situation and now the government coming into contact with such huge monies, again, trust becomes important. And if government could actually demonstrate enough to Ghanaian, then I believe whatever that is in the IMF report people will begin to believe that the government would be able to achieve it” he continued.



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