Activist for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kofi Opare Hagan has fumed at Government following a hint that it may go for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme so as to rejuvenate the ailing economy.
Mr Hagan argued that it would amount to an admission of failure by the Government, and a betrayal of the trust of persons who supported the Government’s implementation of the electronic transfer levy (E-Levy) – a levy the Government said will enable it to avoid an IMF programme.
Mincing no words, he asserted that the Government cannot eat its cake and have it, adding that an IMF programme will impose further hardships on Ghanaians and stall projects being undertaken by the Government.
“It would be untenable for the Government to go to IMF. It would be an admission of failure and a betrayal of trust. We cannot even begin to have that conversation as a nation. It is a totally absurd adventure. We supported E-levy because it was an alternative to IMF. The Government cannot eat their cake and have it. They got what they bargained for and must use it to meet what they projected.
If revenue is low from E-Levy, work on that. But the Government cannot simply with a movement of the hand, put E-levy aside and jump to IMF which would undoubtedly bring more hardships on Ghanaians and suspend many of the projects we are so proud about. It is complete nonsense,” he wrote.
A hint by a hugely influential member of the NPP Gabby Otchere-Darko that the Government could be considering an IMF programme has generated controversy, with some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) chastising the Government for not listening to advice when it opposed the implementation of the E-Levy.
