A Finance Expert and an Associate Professor with Andrews University in Michigan (USA), Prof. Williams Peprah, has said that, negotiation between the Ghana government and authorities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is timely.
His statement comes at the back of the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva’s statement on Monday reiterating her outfit’s commitment to reaching agreement with the Ghana government by the end of this year for an economic programme.
According to her, Ghana’s current economic woes were not a self-inflicted one but exogenous shocks such as COVID-19 and the Russian/Ukraine War.
Prof. Peprah, speaking on Joy Business yesterday and monitored by the Ghanaian Times explained that, the outcome of the deal would ensure a good programme as a boost to investor confidence before the end of the year.
“This would come as a huge relief to the economy which has come under pressure in recent times,” he said.
Prof. Peprah highlighted that the current economic crisis situation was difficult and if the ministry of finance was able to do a debt restructuring, it was going to get the country out of it woes and position it well.
“Aside the COVID-19 and the Russian/Ukraine War, other woes was the current pressure on inflation and the devaluation of the Ghana cedi,” he stated.
Emphasising on the cedi depreciation, he said the cedi had devaluated with almost 20-30 per cent and if care was not taken, by the end of the year 2022 the country might have hit45 per cent devaluation in the currency.
“If you really do analysis on inflation factors, you would notice that what is really causing inflation in the country was the cedi devaluation which is about 80 per cent of our inflationary pressures we currently faced,” he said.
Prof. Peprah cited that, government’s borrowing approach was also a factor in which the country lacked behind,“indeed within the last seven years this has been the only period we have borrowed up to 11 million dollars, we have never gone to this far.”
“The financial support from IMF would improve the Ghanaian economy significantly as well as slow down the depreciation of the cedi and the rising inflation in the country,” he added.
Ghana is before IMF for US$3 billion to help the country navigate through the hostile economic crisis in which it finds itself as a result of the adverse effects of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
BY ANITA ANKRAH
