The International Monetary Fund would not be permitted to prescribe the terms of conditionalities in the event that the government requests financial relief, according to Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, the government’s spokesperson for governance and security.
Mr. Boakye-Danquah has argued that the government will take steps to ensure that current social intervention programs, such as Free SHS, are unaffected by any IMF measures that might be implemented in the event that the government needs a bailout.
“We will ensure that it does not affect jobs,” he told Johnnie Hughes on TV3‘s New Day on Tuesday, June 28.
“We will ensure that it does affect Free SHS, we will ensure that it will not affect other social intervention programs.”
He stressed that approaching the negotiation table, “we will have our own tailor-made [suggestions].”
This comes in the wake of heightened discussions that the government is contemplating going for an IMF bailout in the near future.
The administration has previously denied allegations that it had requested any relief from the Bretton Woods institution, but the rising debt levels have raised the possibility of open conversations in that regard.
A crunch meeting of six ministers is currently being led by Senior Advisor to the President and former Finance Minister Yaw Osafo-Marfo to evaluate the effects of the economic mitigating measures announced in March of this year.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Food and Agriculture, Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development, and Decentralization Dan Kwaku Botwe, and caretaker Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection Cecilia Abena Dapaah are the ministers taking part in this three-day event.
Source: Abubakar Sadick
The rest are Minister for Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen and Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
