NPP Descends On Mahama Over Economy Comments

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described the call by former President John Mahama to organise a national economic forum as a precursor to returning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as misplaced.

Mahama on Monday chastised the Akufo-Addo-led administration for what he describes as “plunging the Ghanaian economy into doldrums.”

However, addressing a news conference in Accra on Wednesday (9 February), Yaw Buaben Asamoa, communications director of the NPP said the government is already implementing measures that the IMF is likely to propose to government.

E-Levy

“For example, he is castigating the government for not having a plan for fiscal consolidation that development partners will buy into, but he says this without realising that the development community have accepted the cost cutting measures of 20% in expenditure and E-Levy as the building block of our recovery.

“So, where is the lack of plan that he is mentioning, usually his focus is three things, increasing revenue internally, cutting waste and managing debt, these are the three prescription the IMF proposes,” Asamoa pointed out.

“So, at this stage for the former president to insist that we should go to a Senchi-like event where we will then  march off to the IMF for relief, it doesn’t really work, we are already implementing the measures that the IMF is likely to bring forward,” Asamoa said.

The NPP communications director said it is not prudent to return to the International Monetary Fund.

“…Having gone to the IMF and we are now struggling to fund roads including in the cities, we can’t go back to that and we will not go back to that because we have a positive relationship with the IMF already in terms of Article 4 consultation that we do annually, in our last Article 4 consultation the IMF stated clearly how we have dealt with COVID.”