National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi has said that former President John Mahama sought an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in 2014 because he did not have the kind of resources available to the Akufo-Addo administration now and therefore attempts by communicators to equate the bailout under Mahama’s administration and the current administration is pathetic and ridiculous.
He contends that the Government’s resort to an IMF bailout even after receiving record revenues is a result of mismanagement and marks an indefensible new low in Ghana’s Governance.
“The attempt by NPP communicators to equalize and rationalize the decision of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to go for an IMF bailout is pathetic and ridiculous, to say the least. This is particularly so given the kind of negative commentary that President Akufo-Addo, his Vice, Alhaji Bawumia, and other leading figures of the NPP have made about IMF programs in time past.
If the erstwhile NDC/Mahama administration had revenue inflows of over US$5 billion to manage “Dumsor”, (a crisis that was largely inherited) and the external shocks we suffered in 2015 like this NPP government had to manage COVID-19; If the erstwhile NDC/Mahama government had three (3) oil fields with an average daily production capacity of 170,000 barrels and an average international market price of $80 per barrel like the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has had in the last five (5) years; I dare say, that there would not have been any need for Ghana to have joined an IMF program in the year 2015,” he argued.
Government communicators have explained that the need for an IMF program is a result of the impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine Crisis. But Sammy Gyamfi says that COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine Crisis cannot be blamed.
“It is indisputable that the current Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-NPP government is the most resourced government in Ghana’s history. They have had access to more oil revenues, tax revenues, and borrowed funds than any government in history. In all, they have had access to over GHS500 billion in total revenue as compared to the about GHS200 billion that accrued to the NDC/Mahama government.
They are left with no other choice than to seek an IMF bailout now because they have wasted all the unprecedented revenues that have accrued to them on consumption, profligacy, and corruption. Today, posterity has exposed their hypocrisy, deceitfulness, recklessness, and emptiness. The least they can do under the circumstances is to burry their arrogance, swallow their pride, accept responsibility for the mess they have created, accept that they have been useless in the manner they have mismanaged the economy, and apologize for the excruciating hardships they continue to impose on the Ghanaian people,” he continued.
The decision by Government to seek help from the International Monetary Fund has sparked debate in the media, especially on social media. While Government supporters have sought to justify the move, opponents have disagreed.
