The Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Isaac Adongo, has lambasted the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, over the second tranche of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $3 billion, which is expected to hit Ghana’s account in September.
The Finance Minister, while updating journalists on the deal, expressed optimism that Ghana will meet the criteria for the disbursement of the next US$600 million.
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, the MP for Bolgatanga Central reiterated that there is nothing to be jubilant about with regard to the second tranche, describing it as the height of humiliation for the country.
“The key variable they need to meet, which we all know was the condition they were supposed to meet before the approval, was to complete the debt restructuring and secure financing assurance, which they could not meet. What is he going to be celebrating with US$600 million? That he has effectively signed off and sealed it off that Ghana is a country of 31 million bankrupt people? That the height of humiliation will become final in September, that as a matter of fact, as a country we are not credit-worthy and that he would have found out that as a country we can’t pay our debts. That is the height of humiliation, and he should stop giving us such updates,” the legislator asserted.
Isaac Adongo emphasized the need for Ghana to settle its debts to external sources.
“If the best way to manage an economy and achieve offshore obligations is to use those monies to fund the markets? Is that how to manage an economy? If that is how to manage an economy, then we must as well put robots there and tell them not to pay our debts to external sources. And use those dollars to fund liquidity in the market. There’s nothing to celebrate,” he pointed out.
After the IMF programme was approved for Ghana, an immediate disbursement of US$600 million was made, with the remaining amount expected to be disbursed in tranches every six months, subject to program evaluations agreed upon by the IMF Executive Board.