$1bn IMF loan: At least someone is listening – Alex Mould

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Alex Mould is former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Commission

Former Chief Executive Officer at the Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC), Alex Mould, has responded to government’s recent move to secure a loan of $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to salvage the country’s economic decline amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Mould had, about two weeks ago, said that the country needs not less than $1bn to hold the economy in shape amidst the devastating impact of the global pandemic.

He said, there is a very short window of opportunity now if the government is to creatively manage this public health crisis while simultaneously reducing its impact on the economy, and strategize for a quick bounce back.

“There are great opportunities to harness, and if executed effectively, will ensure a robust recovery with positive effects post-COVID-19. To do this, government will have to quickly decide on spending relative to our GDP and available funding - Ghana’s economy is a $60Bn economy (unlike the US’s $22Tn) may result in a spend of about $1Bn which is about 1.5% of our GDP.” He wrote in an article.

Weeks on, and the IMF has approved the disbursement of SDR 738 million (about US$1 billion) to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

The loan will help address the urgent fiscal and balance of payments needs that Ghana is facing, improve confidence, and catalyze support from other development partners.

Tao Zhang, Deputy Managing Director and Chair, in a statement said,

"The COVID-19 pandemic is already impacting Ghana severely. Growth is slowing down, financial conditions have tightened, and the exchange rate is under pressure. This has resulted in large government and external financing needs.

"The authorities have timely and proactively responded to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana and support affected households and firms," IMF indicated.

In a post on his twitter page, Mr. Alex Mould, with a collage of articles depicting his suggestion and the subsequent approval wrote, “At least, someone is listening”.

Meanwhile, influential member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has explained that the money made available by the IMF to help countries fight the virus is not similar to the Extended Credit Facility program that the NDC government entered into with the IMF in 2015.