Akufo-Addo Will Address The Nation As Chair Of IMF Task Force – Oppong-Nkrumah

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Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah has disclosed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will address the nation on recent economic developments.

The main issue will be on the government’s July 1, 2022 decision to approach the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for a programme amid an economic downturn.

Speaking on the July 3, 2022 edition of ‘The Probe’ show on Joy News, Oppong-Nkrumah stated that the president took ultimate responsibility for the decision to go to the IMF.

Asked about whether or not calls for the sacking of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, could be considered, he said: “We are in a democracy, you are going to have such calls, what are the key value drivers. Between 2017 to 2019, he helped rally the economy despite difficulties.”

He said the Minister stood by his position that home-grown solutions could help mitigate the slide but, “contrary to his position, the boss says this is what I want my administration to do and he put together a task force that is working on it for it to happen.

“You may have those who say ‘yes he should fire the Finance Minister’ …. History will tell you that presidents have a lot of confidence in their Finance Ministers until you can prove otherwise.”

On the composition of the negotiation team set to meet the IMF later this week, he said: “The task force is chaired by the President but the Finance Minister is an integral part, he has ordered him to engage and so he will be in the chair.”

Asked about whether the President will address the nation, the government spokesman answered in the affirmative but did not give any specific dates.

Government on July 1, 2022 took the decision to begin formal engagements with IMF contrary to its earlier position of not returning to the Fund.

The decision has since divided public opinion.

If the engagement is successful, it will be the seventeenth time the country has returned to the Bretton Woods Institution for economic support.

Some reasons the government has consistently cited for which it made a U-turn on its earlier position on the IMF is the twin crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

By: ghanaweb.com