The $3billion facility approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is good for Ghana because it will help the country to turn its economic fortunes around, a Professor at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bokpin has said.
However, Prof Bokpin said, achieving macroeconomic stability by the 2026 target will be difficult.
Speaking on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Monday, May 29, regarding the comment by President Akufo-Addo in the Sunday, May 28 address to the nation that “Access to the IMF facility will not spell the immediate end of the difficulties we are in presently, Prof Bokpin said “I think [Sunday] there was an honest admission from the President that merely having an IMF programme doesn’t mean our problems will just disappear.
“The IMF itself admits that their programme cannot do everything for us and therefore we need to complement some of the measures that are in the IMF programme with our own homegrown measures.”
He added “It is very important. That is the only way we can ensure greater economic transformation and inclusive productivity growth.
“We cannot get done solely by implementing the IMF programme. That said, I think having an IMF programme is goodnews for us because at least it provides us with the leverage to be able to turn things around in the shortest possible time.
“Of course, we may not be able to restore macroeconomic stability by 2026 but having macroeconomic stability is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end and therefore how do you move from economic stability to create economic transformation and inclusive productivity growth? That is where the challenge is.
“If you look at the programme and some of the measures, structural reforms, some of the quantitative indicative targets, it tells you that there is a lot of work ahead of us.”
