IMF bailout: Akufo-Addo, Bawumia must take responsibility for their incompetence, reckless borrowing– Haruna Iddrisu

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has admonished the Akufo-Addo administration to take full responsibility for what he calls the reckless management of the economy that has taken Ghana to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He argues that no justification from the government about the reasons for going to the IMF will wash.

Addressing the press in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu called on the government to take steps to reduce profligate expenditure.

“President Nana Addo Dankwa and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia should take responsibility for incompetently managing the economy to suffocate debt levels which have necessitated the retreat for us to request an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the restructuring of our debt.”

“As they take responsibility, they should also take responsibility for their reckless and irresponsible borrowing and their unjustified and profligate expenditure, which has led us to this journey.”

A delegation from the IMF has begun talks with the Ghanaian government over an economic support package.

The government’s decision to resort to the IMF comes after the government’s controversial revenue generation policy, the electronic transfer levy, failed to generate the needed revenue targets.

Ghana's economy is in distress as it currently has a total public debt stock of GH¢391.9 billion, as of the end of the first quarter of 2022.

The cedi is also the worst-performing African currency, having weakened 22 percent against the dollar this year.

Efforts to tame rising inflation rates have also not been successful.

By Citi Newsroom