Ken Ofori-Atta, the finance minister, has promised lawmakers that he will make sure that discussions with the IMF are fruitful and do not subject Ghanaians to unnecessary hardship.
At the conclusion of the discussion on the mid-year budget statement on Wednesday, the Minister provided this guarantee. Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, however, asserted throughout the discussion that the budget provided Ghanaians little hope.
The Tamale South MP concluded the discussion for his side by claiming that the mid-year budget did little to lessen the burden on Ghanaians.
Mr. Speaker, once more, the Ghanaian economy is likely to slide into a deeper crisis than what now looks to be the case if this administration doesn't implement quick and widespread economic growth as well as an effective campaign against corruption. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the majority leader, attributed the present financial crisis on the NDC's opposition to the passage of the electronic transaction levy (e-levy). He said that Ghanaians' unwillingness to adopt the strategy led to their dread and terror.
"... the uproar that the e-passage levy's provoked was actually detrimental, Mr. Speaker; it spread fear, the rating agencies downgraded Ghana, and this prevented the government from obtaining additional loans. In the end, investors began to pull their money out of the market, which put pressure on foreign currencies. That explains why the Ghana cedi depreciated by 15.8% by the end of the first quarter, he said.
He continued by saying that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine made the nation's economic woes worse. The Finance Minister assured the House that he has accepted its concerns in good spirit at the completion of the Parliament's debate on the mid-year budget, which featured remarks from all sides of the House.
As we move forward in the year, we will make sure that this engagement with the IMF is beneficial for the country and that the country will get back on course, he said. "Mr Speaker, at this point I will like to thank members of this session for the statement that we've made and particularly for the contributions from the Minority side and certainly from our side," he said.
President Akufo-Addo had promised Ghanaians that his administration will successfully strike an agreement with the IMF. He asserted that the NPP has a history of negotiating IMF agreements that are in the nation's best interests.
"Our party has a history of helping Ghana overcome obstacles. When President Kufuor was in office, we removed Ghana from HIPC. We removed Ghana from the 2015 IMF programme that had gone awry, he said.
At the National Delegates Conference of the NPP held at the Accra Sports Stadium, the President provided the assurance.
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