Going to IMF would indicate that Ghana is not financially disciplined – Prof Lord
Govt might not be able adhere to IMF conditionalities – Prof Lord
International money market should be a ‘no go area’ for govt – Economist
A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Lord Mensah, has urged government to resist the temptation of running to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial support.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show, Prof Mensah said going to IMF would have serious consequences on Ghana’s economy.
According to him, because Ghana had previously gone to the IMF for support, going there again would give the impression that Ghana was not a financially disciplined country.
“We’ve been to IMF before and I tell you when we go to IMF now, we’re going to expose ourselves and the communication to IMF is that we’re not disciplined enough when it comes to the management of our funds.”
The senior lecturer said though he believes going to the IMF was the appropriate measure to build a robust economy, the stringent conditionalities for IMF support might be too overwhelming for government to comply with.
“So, when they come in a form of rescue, the peanuts they’re going to give, and the stringent economic measures they’ll put in place, I doubt the country can be able to follow. So, we have to be careful how we’re running to IMF and all that,” he said.
Prof Lord reiterated that the Ghana should not seek support in the international money market because the conditions including government reducing its budget deficit would be difficult to attain.
“We were at the World Bank some few years ago and they came with certain conditions and they gave us certain targets, including our budget deficit of 5% to GDP.
“When we were about to round up the IMF programme, we were so quick and happy to come out of IMF, thinking that when we come out of IMF we will be on our own and start rolling out policies that will start creating employment.”
“Now, we moved out of the IMF, and then we jumped our budget deficit to 11%. So as for the international market, it’s a ‘no-go area’,” he said.