On the 17th of November 2022, Akosua Manu, Deputy CEO of the National Youth Authority, stated that, the current government has never misreported to the IMF. She intended to clear the air about this particular issue because according to her, there have been rumors going round for about a year now that the government has been misreporting to the IMF.
She stated that the NDC should be able to have some evidence to prove what they said about the government misreporting to the IMF. She regarded the rumor as a set of unbridled lies.
“It was told in a manner which actually got the IMF representative to Ghana at the time, Albert Touna Mama to actually speak to the issue that in no way has Ghana ever misrepresented to the IMF and this is what happens when we sometimes throw things in the air and say that the perception alone carries enough weight to pin somebody down as having done something wrong.”
Akosua Manu
Akosua emphasized on the fact that Ghana has never misreported to the IMF, however she mentioned that in 2001, Ghana was sanctioned with a heavy fine of 36 million dollars, for misreporting to the IMF about a loan. She indicated that this was a “legacy crime” under the the regime of the late President Jerry John Rawlings, who was a member of the NDC.
“There’s no medal for misreporting for this current government, there’s never been. It’s a figment of their imagination, they keep telling that lie on every single platform they can seek and Touna Mama has spoken to this. It’s not true. Even with this censure sitting it came up again, and the member of parliament corrected it.”
Akosusa Manu
It is not true that the IMF has alluded to the fact that this government has misreported, she explained, stating that she has not seen an article or document to that effect.
The Entire Financial Management Team Must Go
On the same panel discussion, Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah, General Secretary of the CPP stated that, the finance minister is not the only person who is supposed to be laid off, rather, the entire financial management team of the country should be laid off as well.
She added that there should be a complete overhaul, and if Ken Ofori-Atta is preventing them [the team] from doing their work, they [members of the team] should report this issue.
“When Kwarteng left, Liz Truss also left because when Kwarteng did that budget, he discussed it with Liz Truss and Liz Truss and the team agreed that this is the way we are going. So, Liz Truss felt that it will not be right for her to stay, because she said that she could not handle the economy the way that she wished to do so. So, are you saying that Ken is the only one who does the budget.?”
Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah
Nana Yaa mentioned that Ken Ofori Atta did not attend the censure meeting alone, and that he went with a team and a lawyer. She explained that the presence of the team at the censure meeting indicates that they are also responsible for the economic mishaps in the country.
“There’s always a team, a body that advises the minister that this is the way we should go, unless somebody is telling us that Ken doesn’t listen and he’s recalcitrant. We haven’t heard that, so if he has to go, he has to go with his team, because with the same kind of team if a new minister comes it will be the same thing.”
Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah
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