Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ghana’s Minister of Information, stated that talks between the Ghanaian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a program have not ceased. He stated that a program under the Fund is typically sealed in between six and nine months. Mr. Oppong Nkrumah was responding to Dr. John Kwakye, director of research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), who said that the negotiation was not progressing more quickly. According to Dr. Kwakye, the uncertainty and delay are prompting investors to speculate and worry, which is continuing to harm the cedi.
In a tweet, Dr Kwakye said “The IMF is moving at a snail’s pace in negotiating Ghana’s program, as if nothing is at stake. The delay and uncertainty are fueling speculation and panic in the investor community, causing continued damage to the cedi. Yet our economic managers stand aloof. This is unacceptable!
But on Wednesday, October 12, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, a lawmaker for the residents of Ofoase Ayirebi, stated in an interview with TV3’s Paa Kwesi Asare on the sidelines of the ongoing World Bank/IMF meeting in Washington, USA, “It usually takes about six to nine months to close an IMF programme, the history is there for many other countries, it is not something you can close in a day.
“We acknowledge that it needs to be done with dispatch, the President himself has spoken to the Managing Director, the Finance Minister has engaged with the Managing Director, the Mission has been to Ghana and those discussions are going on but there are steps you have to go through. In fact, throughout the day today, the Honourable Charles Adu Boahen, the Honourable Ken Ofori-Atta, they have been at the Fiscal Affairs Department and the Ghana Mission office going through the next level of negotiations.
“I think both sides have just issued statements a few days ago talking about how they are satisfied with how the process is going. I think at this stage, what we need to do is to ensure that the kind of data and scenario that need to be modelled are made available with dispatch and are accepted by both sides so that we can reach the timelines we are looking for.”
