Seeking IMF bailout means Akufo-Addo gov’t has failed – Kennedy Agyapong

Kennedy Agyapong, an outspoken member of parliament for the Assin Central district, has made fun of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for requesting a bailout from the IMF (IMF).

Mr. Agyapong argued that only governments who have failed to live up to expectations seek support from the Britton Woods institution.

“During the NDC era, I declared that any government that requests assistance from the IMF has failed. Do you expect me to change my mind if my government is heading to the IMF? I won’t be taken seriously by anyone. In an interview with Citi News conducted on Saturday at the NPP’s National Delegates Conference at the Accra Sports stadium, he stated, “I still stand by that, we [the NPP government] have failed.

However, Mr. Agyapong asserted that there are significant differences between the circumstances that caused the former Mahama administration to request an IMF program and those that led the Akufo-Addo administration to turn to the Britton Wood organization.

“The mere fact that you have gone to IMF means you have failed. But there’s a difference between the IMF under NDC and the IMF under NPP. Under NPP, we’ve been unfortunate to have a Covid pandemic. As if it was not enough, when it was subsiding, then came the Russia-Ukraine war. In America, inflation normally hovers around one or two percent. But now, in 40 years history of America, inflation is 8.7%. That alone tells you that it is not the fault of NPP. I have never seen Americans fighting for baby formula to feed their kids. Was that the situation under NDC when they took us to IMF? The answer is no. So that alone tells you that, the level of mismanagement of the two parties going to IMF–NDC’s own is higher than that of NPP.”

Ghana’s government is requesting assistance from the IMF to help the country’s struggling economy, which is being challenged by high levels of debt, high rates of inflation, and low revenue collection.