IMF Deal: Trainee Allowances Will Not Be Scrapped – Osafo-Maafo

Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has assured that government’s allowances given to trainees in Colleges of Education will not be scrapped.

Many have raised concerns over the possibility of scraping teacher trainee allowances as part of the IMF conditionality.

Speaking at the 175th-anniversary celebration of Akropong College of Education, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, emphasized that all allowances will be maintained.

“I know that the difficulty in the economic landscape, which has resulted in the government signing up for a programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), may cause you some concerns. But none of the allowances introduced in the teaching profession will be affected by our programme with the IMF. If there are any difficulties in prompt payments, it is coming from our own mobilization of resources and not from the IMF,” Mr. Osafo-Maafo clarified.

The Executive Board of the IMF on May 17, granted approval for Ghana’s $3 billion bailout request, aimed at revitalizing the country’s struggling economy.

Ghana received an amount of $600 million from the IMF, the first tranche of the $3 billion bailout package, on May 19.