The Ministry of Finance has announced in a statement that a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to arrive in Accra today, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 and commence meetings with government tomorrow.

Subsequent to the directive by the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance stated that it has commenced engagement with the Fund to support Ghana’s economic programme. The Ministry of Finance assured the general public that government will ensure that it successfully negotiate the program in the coming months.

“Pursuant to this, a delegation from the Fund is scheduled to arrive in Accra on Tuesday, 5th July, 2022, to commence in-person meetings with the Government of Ghana on Wednesday 6th July, 2022.

“The Ministry further takes this opportunity to assure Ghanaians of the Government’s commitment to successfully negotiate a program with the IMF in the coming months, in support of Ghana’s economic recovery”.
Ministry of Finance, Ghana

Following the announcement of the government’s decision to formally engage the Fund for support, there have been several reactions from Ghanaians and other civil society organizations. One group believes that going to the IMF is the right decision, while another believes that it will not help Ghana.

According to a BBC report, Professor Steve Hanke, an international economist at John Hopkins University in the United States, believes Ghana’s current IMF program will fail.

According to Professor Steve Hanke, another IMF loan will not save Ghana’s economy. He said just like the past 17 IMF programmes, a new one will fail. He warned that the cost of living in the country will continue to rise as reflected in the country’s inflation rate.

Professor Steve Hanke indicated that based on exchange rate data from the free and black markets, the annual inflation rate for Ghana will be around 49.35% this year.

UTAG won’t tolerate IMF conditionalities

Meanwhile, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has warned that it will not tolerate any conditionalities from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that will adversely affect its members.

In a statement on Monday, July 4, the Association stated that it has taken note of the government’s application for economic assistance from the Fund. It however, stressed that it will not welcome any policy directive from the Fund with adverse effects.

“We, thus, feel uneasy with the Government’s decision given its potential negative impact on UTAG members and by extension, public sector workers, and its repercussion on the operations of Public Universities”.

“We wish to state that the Government of Ghana must ensure that the conditions subsequent to the support will not disadvantage the Conditions of Service of Labour Unions, including UTAG. In particular, UTAG would not tolerate any IMF conditionality that negatively affects the existing agreements between Government and UTAG to improve the Conditions of Service of our members”.
UTAG

UTAG however, urged government to take advantage of the opportunity of going to the IMF to “make use of local experts to support the development of a comprehensive programme that will form the basis of all engagements with the IMF”.

It also pledged its readiness to “provide technical backstopping support services to the government to analyse the policy options and develop the programme for effective and efficient engagement with the IMF”.

Director of Labour Research and Policy Institute at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, has also warned that the government’s decision to seek financial support from the IMF may not augur well for workers.

According to him, previous IMF interventions have not been able to sustainably address the country’s economic challenges as such, any move will only worsen the country’s growth prospects.

On the contrary, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) expressed its support for the decision by the government to go to the International Monetary Fund(IMF).