Economist, Dr. Lord Mensah has stated that, there is likelihood Ghana will go back to the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
According to Economist, Dr Lord Mensah the country’s revenue continues to dwindle and debt continues to go up, it may be forced to subscribe to the IMF programme in the coming years.
Speaking to Accra based Starr FM, Dr Mensah said Ghana has made a lot of investment in the bid to enhance revenue generation, but the effect is not visible.
He noted “if we continue to realize this dwindling revenue over the years and it continues for about five years, I think we are not far from going to IMF again.”
He explained: “as a country we’ve done a lot of investment in a direction to enhance revenue generation. So I ask myself why is it that all this investment is not building up into trevenue generation. Is it because the investment has been done and there is a large effect that we expect to see in the future? So for me I think that so many things are not adding up in the economic indicators that we have in the country. That is why when IMF came they had to caution us as to how our debt is brewing in relation to the revenue that we are generating.”
Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is currently leading Ghana’s delegation to the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, from October 14th to 20th, 2019.
The delegation includes the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, the Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, some Deputy Ministers and other officials from the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Ghana.
Mr Ofori-Atta who is also the current Chairman of the Development Committee and the Africa Caucus will lead the Caucus to present their views and concerns to the world body.
While in Washington, the Ghanaian delegation will participate in the Africa Caucus meeting with David Malpass and Kristalina Georgieva, the President of the World Bank, and the IMF Managing Director, respectively. They will also meet with Jingdong Hua, Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank Group, and Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank Vice President for Africa.
The delegation will attend the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting, attend the G24 Meetings, and the launch of the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. Aside from the obligatory meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, the delegation will hold bilateral discussions with partner countries, financial institutions and private sector investors and the rating agencies.
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The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bring together ministers of finance, central bankers, and development partners, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness. Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial system.
