Both NDC & NPP Sees The Problem With IMF/World Bank Loans But Still Go For It. Who Is To Be Blame?

I will begin my article with a quote from Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom the then Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Integration during President Kuffour's administration. He said, “After 20 long years of implementing structural adjustment programmes, our economy has remained weak and vulnerable and not sufficiently transformed to sustain accelerated growth and development. Poverty has become rather widespread, unemployment very high, manufacturing and agriculture are in decline, and our external and domestic debts much too heavy a burden to bear.”

But President Kuffour government continued to seek loans from IMF. Kufour government signed up to the HIPC of the IMF/World Bank to secure a three-and-half billion dollars debt relief. This decision by the government demoted Ghana from being a star of the International Financial Institutions to a highly indebted country. The conditions of the loan led to a 100 percent rise in fuel prices and 300 percent increase in prices of water and electricity. Also, the loan agreement froze payment at the public sector which led to consistent labor actions throughout the country by Nurses, Doctors, Teachers, and students.

Between Kuffour and Attah Mills administration, a two years unemployment gap was created due to IMF/World Bank loans deal. It has created a situation for students to stay home for at least two years after graduating from college before getting a job. A situation, neither NPP nor NDC seems to show interest in addressing it. It is the youth that suffers since. Some of my colleagues are jobless since completing university in 2012.

After President Kuffour Administration, the NDC administration continued to seek loans from IMF under such harsh conditions. According to Dr. Bawumia, the current Vice President of Ghana at the Central University College before the election in 2016 said, "My understanding is that Government wants the IMF agreement to delay the worker layoffs until the 2016 election. I wonder why? I suppose the message is "vote for me before I fire you',"

Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh added his voice to this. He said, “Don’t believe the NDC when they go about telling you it has created and will create jobs for the youth; it does not have that capacity because of its own incompetence. There is a freeze on public employment so from now up till they leave office in 2016, they can’t employ anyone,”

The basis for making these statement was because the government of Ghana was in the process of contracting a loan or made a deal with IMF/World Bank which would require public servants to be laid off. Meanwhile, the government has frozen employment in the public sector except for one or two ministries. The then NDC government wanted to play a smart game because it was an election year, so they wanted to win the election before enforcing this loan agreement.

IMF/World Bank has stated that if Ghana government wants further disbursement of their loans, then public servants must be laid off from work. According to IMF, "It will be underpinned by strengthened fiscal consolidation efforts that hinge on prudent public expenditure management, enhanced domestic revenue mobilization, public sector reforms, with particular emphasis on staff rationalization in the public service and better controlling the wage bill."

Now the NDC party did not win the election, will Dr. Bawumia and NPP government accept or reject another IMF/World Bank loan agreement? Already, we are suffering from the mess of IMF loans from Kuffour and Attah Mills. I will not be surprised if Nana Addo government go to IMF. It is just a matter of time. By the way, why would NDC and NPP governments go to IMF/World Bank for loans under hard conditions? Are there alternatives to IMF? Can we try other options?

I am not working with the government of Ghana now but let me say this, no matter how great IMF loan is to Ghana, I will prefer to starve with the people than to get such a loan which will freeze employment to the people. Do some of our leaders have compassion for the workforce? How can you reach such an agreement against your workforce? I mean, we can negotiate for better loans.

In the statements from these leaders above, we can see that they understand IMF/World Bank is not a better option for us, but they still go for it. It could be that they make bad negotiations or they are forced by invincible powers to accept these loans at all cost. It is sad to see a leader who goes for a loan that restricts employment on his/her workforce. How do you fix unemployment then?

SAY NO TO IMF/WORLD BANK LOANS OR NEGOTIATE FOR A BETTER LOANS!