FLASHBACK: Only a failed gov’t goes to IMF – Ken Agyapong

In February, 2022, a stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Member of Parliament for the Assin Central constituency, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong reiterated government stance on going to the International Monetary Find (IMF) for financial assistance.

According to him, the Akufo-Addo government was committed to not returning to the IMF because of several interventions and policies which had been put in place to ensure sufficient macroeconomic gains for the local economy to bounce back on track.

He however described any government that heads to the IMF as a failed administration, adding that, Ghana at then was heading in the right direction.

“I hear some people say we should go to the IMF but any government that goes to IMF has failed and we haven’t failed” he said.

However barely four months after the comment, President Akufo-Addo has asked the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to commence talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout following severe challenges with Ghana’s economy.

This was announced in a statement issued by the Information Ministry today, Friday, July 1, 2022.

“The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has authorized Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to commence formal engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), inviting the Fund to support an economic program put together by the Government of Ghana.”

“This follows a telephone conversation between the President and the IMF Managing Director, Miss Kristalina Georgievs, conveying Ghana’s decision to engage with the Fund,” the statement noted.