Government to submit IMF programme to Parliament for consideration –IMF Resident Representative
Government is expected to submit Ghana’s Economic Programme with the IMF to parliament for consideration through a Memorandum.
Resident Representative of the IMF, Dr. Leandro Medina disclosed this on PM Express Business Edition on May 25, 2023 with host George Wiafe on the Joy News channel.
Dr. Medina was responding to concerns that the programme could face some challenges after the administrative government that took the country to the IMF leaves office in 2024.
He disclosed that before the Executive Board approved the programme, an IMF mission visited to engage various stakeholders.
Ghana’s Programme to Parliament
“My understanding is that a Memorandum will be prepared by government and later sent to parliament, mainly explaining a new financing from the IMF has arrived and how it will be used”.
He added the IMF was informed that the programme was also captured in the 2023 Budget.
He stated that the approval of some of the taxes approved in the budget also indicates parliament’s approval.
“In that sense, parliament has been informed about the deal and has been passed”, he said.
Stakeholder ownership of IMF programme
Dr. Median stated that the IMF has continuously engaged all relevant stakeholders to make the process transparent.
According to him, the stakeholders included Organized Labour, political parties, and Members of Parliament.
He is of the view that the engagements helped in bring all stakeholders on board.
Proposed tax reforms in the programme
The programme seeks to reform Ghana’s tax structure and policies to deal with revenue mobilisation challenges.
Dr. Medina rejected suggestions that the taxes under the programme will burden Ghanaians.
He pointed out that there is a need to improve the collection of taxes.
He expressed worry about Ghana’s low tax levels, in relation to the tax GDP ratio which is still below 20 per cent.
Zero Financing of Government’s Budget
The Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance have signed an MoU on enforcing the Zero Financing of Government operations.
Touching on the issue, Dr. Medina justified the objective of the condition under this programme.