{"id":603318,"date":"2019-03-29T14:03:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T14:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n

Following Ghana\u2019s exit from another International Monetary Fund (<\/span><\/span>IMF) program, professor of Economics has rallied Ghanaian leaders to ensure the country\u2019s economy will never need a bail-out.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Joy FM\u2019s Super Morning Show Friday, Prof. Eric Osei- Assibey who is with \u00a0the Economics Department of the University of Ghana called for fiscal discipline to sustain the present gains which have helped Ghana wean itself from the IMF. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The IMF has set March ending as the\u00a0date\u00a0for its\u00a0Executive\u00a0Board to carry out its final review of Ghana\u2019s Extended Credit Facility programme before approving of its exit. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A pass would lead to the successful conclusion of the programme on April 3, 2019. This is the country\u2019s 16th<\/sup>\u00a0IMF program since independence in March 1957. The previous\u00a0one was completed in 2006 under the NPP administration of President John Kufuor.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This was after the\u00a0Fund\u2019s staff mission to Ghana completed discussions with government\u00a0<\/sup>which could be described as the final staff review on the Programme.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the IMF\u00a0staff mission led by Annalisa Fedelino, government has made \u201cgood progress implementing the Extended Credit Facility -supported programme.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But Osei-Assibey said the key question is whether Ghana can sustain the gains made so far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore needs to be done to ensure that as a country we never go back to the IMF. We know the issues that take us to the IMF and everyone must play their role effectively to safeguard against that,\u201d he told sit-in-host Animwaa Anim Addo. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Photo: Prof. Eric Osei-Assibey<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

He urged government to resist the pressure that comes with elections to ensure that it does not spend outside the budget, urging it to guard against fiscal indiscipline, reckless expenditure, and revenue underperformance. <\/span><\/p>\n

These he said must be done without unduly burdening the people. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should know that the people will be expectant, will be looking to see their roads fixed, looking to seeing that they have three square meals, so the government must increase revenue mobilization because at the end of the day you cannot cut expenditure just because you want to achieve fiscal discipline,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

He also called on citizens to live up to their responsibility of ensuring that they pay enough taxes to check revenue underperformance, which is also a key reason that can push government to seek external support. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n