The IMF programme is going to be derailed by the end of this year – Ato Forson

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority Leader in Parliament, has expressed concerns regarding the government's management of the cedi, cautioning that it could jeopardise the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme by year-end.

He had alleged on May 15 in a press briefing that the government borrowed GH¢7 billion from the treasury bills market to compensate contractors outside of the

Read full articlebudgetary allocations. He argued that such practices, aimed at extending expenditure beyond the budget for political reasons, are exacerbating the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

To calrify his allegations, Dr. Ato Forson, in a interview on the Citi FM, emphasised that the current trajectory indicates a potential setback for the IMF programme, which was previously on track. He expressed concerns that the next IMF review, crucial for releasing the third tranche of the 3 billion External Credit Facility, would rely on outdated data from the previous year, failing to reflect the current economic situation.

"Let me be honest with you, this programme is certainly going to be derailed by the end of this year and it is going to take a while. I have no doubt about that… let’s wait and see. It is actually on the back of the fiscal," he said.

"They were on course but as you know the review dates back. So, the next review is going to use the data as of December last year. So the programme indicators to check whether the programme is performing or not is going to use data six months before the time of review.

"So, obviously six months before it was good. But I can tell you that based on the data and the way they are conducting the affairs of the policy going forward, there is going to be a complete commotion," he added.