The minority in parliament claims it encouraged the government to apply for an IMF bailout in 2021, but the cabinet disregarded the recommendation.
According to the minority, the government would not have gotten to the current condition if it had listened to sensible advice.
The statement read, "We wish to state for the records that we in the Minority were clear in our minds that this government had long missed every golden opportunity it was presented to salvage the economy, which it has so grossly mismanaged since coming into office in 2017," when the government finally decided to seek an IMF bailout on July 4, 2022 (11 months ago).
The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, released and signed a statement in reaction to the IMF Executive Board's approval of Ghana's request for an extended credit facility of $3 billion.
The Ghanaian people eagerly await the Board paper on the actual status of Ghana's economy in the days ahead after securing Board clearance. In terms of our Debt Sustainability Analysis, Performance Criteria, Structural Benchmarks, and the entire range of additional conditionalities that have been agreed upon, this report will clarify the complete specifics of the agreement between the Fund and the government, it added.
The Minority in Parliament will address Ghanaians over the report's contents and the implications of the IMF accord in the upcoming days.
The minority party in parliament praised the patience of Ghanaian bondholders who had to accept haircuts on their investments and returns, pensioners who had been so far denied payment of maturing coupons on their investments, and Ghanaians of all ages who had to make painful sacrifices due to the country's unstable economy, rising cost of living, and concern over how to pay for basic necessities.
"Suffice it to say that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has pledged to raise utility rates every three months starting from last year as part of their proposal to the IMF to obtain this deal. Electricity rates have increased by a total of 75.32 percent since September 2022 (27 percent in September 2022, and so on).
"Let's prepare for the full effects of this IMF agreement, which will undoubtedly hurt Ghanaians, particularly the young. This is not a warning to give up; rather, it is a statement of a truth that will soon dawn on all of us.
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