NDC To Server Ties With IMF & World Bank

The Minority Spokesperson on Finance and Member of Parliament for Nabdam, Hon. Moses Asaga has stated that should the National Democratic Congress (NDC) win the 2008 elections and form the next government, it would sever all ties Ghana has with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and wean the country off the policies of the Breton Woods Institutions.

Speaking on an Accra based radio station this morning, Hon. Asaga in response to a question from the Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Kwaku Agyemang Manu, noted that one of the bad policies of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is the government's over reliance on the policies of the IMF and the World Bank. He reiterated his position to wean the country off the policies of the institutions. This came up when Mr Asaga earlier indicated that government is not being able to make use of the country's B+ credit rating because of its over reliance on the policies of the World Bank.

On his part, the Deputy Minister for Finance noted that due to the bad experience of the NDC government, with respect to using the country's sovereign guarantees to guarantee loans for Ghanaian businesses, the NPP government is treading cautiously, noting that as at now, about 15 Ghanaian businesses owe the government about 108 million pounds due some of these government guarantees.

In a related development, following the pronouncement by the Minister for Finance, Hon. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, when his Ministry took its turn at the "meet the press series", that the over subscription of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of CAL BANK last year is an indication of the availability of money in the pockets of Ghanaians, the Minority spokesperson on finance, Hon. Moses Asaga has responded to this assertion, rebuffing the claim as flawed and not a proper measure of the actual situation on the ground.

In an interview, Mr Asaga noted that though is unarguable that the IPO was oversubscribed, the distribution of the ownership of the company tells that those involved in the offer do not reflect a sizeable number whose situation or actions could be used as an indication in respect of trends in the economy. During the same interview, the Deputy Minister of Finance Kwaku Manu Agyeman expressed the concern about banks in the country and why they are not reducing their interest rates, though there have been enormous improvements in the economic fundamentals of the country.

He further indicated that government would do all it can, together with the Bank of Ghana to make sure that the banks respond favorably to these developments in the economy, though it recognizes that the reduction in the reserve rates for the banking industry is yet to have an effect on the industry.