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25.11.2014 General News

Involve Citizens In IMF Bailout Discussions - CSOs Tell Gov’t

By Myjoyonline.com
Franklin CudjoeFranklin Cudjoe
25.11.2014 LISTEN

Civil society organisations are asking government to involve ordinary Ghanaians in discussions about International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.

They say if the public are informed about the bailout and are engaged, there would be more effective monitoring of conditionalities and execution of the project.

This came up at the launch of the societies' platform, “Civil Society Organisation on Ghana's IMF Bailout,” in Accra today.

Joy News' Hanna Odame who was at the launch, reports that the societies advocated the use of information and communications technology to disseminate information.

The group would have a national forum on November 18 where a renowned economist would be invited to explain the IMF conditionalities, monitory mechanism, and implementation strategies among others. Participants, including government representatives, would have the opportunity to share ideas and come out with specific recommendations.

Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Ghana, said the outcome of the forum which would be presented to the government would be 'issue based, fact based and research based, devoid of any colouring'.

He said their intention is to ensure that there would be a much broader understanding of IMF-related issues by the ordinary Ghanaian. This, he said, would go a long way to help government spend less time and resources in educating people about the IMF bailout.

Meanwhile Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Dr. Anthony Akoto-Osei says opposition parties should also be engaged, especially because the bailout could go beyond election year.

The CSO Platform is made up of IMANI Ghana, SEND-Ghana GII, CDD, FAT-AFRICA, GACC, African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs, Penplusbytes, OccupyGhana and OXFAM.

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