Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the ranking member of the Parliament’s Finance Committee, claims that if the government does not let go of its “empty pride” and seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana’s economy would collapse.
He said that the nation’s economy is moving in the same way as Sri Lanka’s and that if something is not done soon, Ghana may be heading to the IMF in an ambulance.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s prime minister, said that the debt-ridden nation’s economy had entirely collapsed following months of fuel, food, and energy shortages and predicted much graver circumstances in the future.
Dr. Ato Forson challenged the government to decide to approach the IMF right away or risk dying trying in a PM Express interview on JoyNews.
“Currently as we speak, the Ghanaian economy is in tatters, in fact, we’re in deep crisis. If we do not take decisions now, this crisis will become a disaster. And that is what I’m warning against…Our economy the way it is going is headed towards an accident; you know what an accident is.
“And I can tell you for sure that if the government fails to take action today and would wait any further, two three months six months further would mean we would end up entering the year 2023 limping,” he said.
He claimed that the status of the nation’s reserves is one indication that things are not going well economically.
“Let no one tickle you and get you to believe that the gross international reserve because it’s at 3.7% so we’re in a good position. The chunk of that reserve out there is in the incumbent. The net international reserves are in a precarious situation. We should be warned and the government should take action today.
“We’ve been told that the Central Bank is rationing forex to the extent that they have to cough 450million US dollars a month just to buy petroleum products for our consumption. They’re struggling to make money available for less than 20% of that 450million US dollars.
“Dollars are not in town, our BOP isn’t doing well, our reserves are being depleted, our revenues are not coming, for simple reason being the government isn’t doing enough in terms of collection, and we know where the debt levels are, it’s scary,” he explained.
Dr. Ato Forson added that in order to pay off its debts, the government has been borrowing money. He has urged the government to act swiftly to address the problem before it worsens into a catastrophe.
Source: Joy News