Seth Tekper, a former finance minister, has urged the government to review some of its hallmark initiatives as the nation prepares to receive an IMF bailout.
He claimed that doing this is essential to restart the economy.
He emphasised that the majority of the flagship programmes, notably the Free Senior High School project (Free SHS) and Agenda 111, should be examined since they are unsustainable and a burden on the country's finances.
"Free SHS in its current unrestricted form cannot be sustained. You borrow despite having unmanageable debt. You are paying compensation and interest out of your whole income. You are borrowing to pay off previous loans that you previously took out to finance a free SHS.
On July 4, Mr. Tekper said on Joy FM's Super Morning Show that cautious measures, such as "cutting back on expenditure," are essential in tough times when the nation is experiencing an economic crisis.
He said, for instance, that the government had to cancel several marquee programmes during his time as Finance Minister under the Mahama-led administration in order to address the different economic issues.
"When the price of crude decreased in 2015–2016, we were members of the Fund [IMF]. The E-schools were our flagship initiative at that time. In our first statement, we promised to build 200 schools. However, as reality set in, President Mahama warned that we might not be able to finish all 200. When we were going to leave government, we were able to build around 70," he recounted.
So those are the kinds of choices you have to make, he said.
This comes after the Akufo-Addo-led administration decided to look to the IMF for financial assistance.
The decision to work with the IMF had already been communicated to President Akufo-Addo in a chat with Kristalina Georgieva, according to a statement dated July 1, 2022 and signed by the information minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
"The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been given formal permission by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), urging the Fund to support an economic programme developed by the Government of Ghana."
Cabinet gave its approval to the government's plan to pursue an economic programme from the Fund at a meeting on June 30, 2022.
According to the announcement, the IMF involvement would aim to offer balance of payment support as part of a larger attempt to hasten Ghana's recovery from the problems brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic and, more recently, the Russian-Ukraine situation.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the information minister, said that when discussions on a particular support package are finished, the government is anticipated to receive roughly $2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said that taking into account Ghana's quota and macroeconomic statistics, the nation might obtain such funding to support its reserves.
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