The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has dismissed the National Democratic Congress (NDC)-propelled claims that the Akufo-Addo government tampered with figures presented to the institution to secure a coronavirus (Covid-19) impact mitigation facility.
Government had requested from the IMF a rapid concessional loan of a billion dollars intended to be used to manage the negative impact of the pandemic in the country.
The massaged-figures claim by the NDC intended to put government in bad light failed to fly when the Country Director of IMF, Dr. Albert Touna Mama, on Saturday cleared the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, of the politicized accusations.
Fact Checking
The Fact Checking Ghana campaign claimed that the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Ghana misinformed the Bretton Woods Institution regarding figures presented.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) did the fact-checking and the NDC has since been using it as a smear campaign against the NPP government.
MFWA’s work pointed out that the government wittingly misled the IMF by eroticizing the 2018 and 2019 fiscal deficit figures of 3.0 per cent and 4.4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) respectively to the IMF to 7.0 per cent (2018) and 7.5 per cent (2019) of GDP in its report to the IMF.
IMF Correction
But Dr. Mama, speaking on Joy FM on Saturday, said those making the allegations are only “comparing apple and pears.”
“You need to go through the reports and understand what the figures that have been presented are,” he stressed.
He explained that the 7.5 per cent fiscal deficit in the IMF statement was generated by the institution itself and not the Government of Ghana, adding that the seeming discrepancy in the figures is as a result of two different methodologies used in calculating the deficit and international reserve based on different understanding.
According to Dr. Mama, the IMF included in its computation the financial and energy sector payments, which were not part of the government’s calculation.
“Our number includes these two elements (financial sector payments and energy sector payment) and we know why the Governor of the Bank of Ghana made the decision not to have these two elements in the fiscal deficits,” the IMF Country Director said.
BoG Methodology
He stated that the IMF knew about the government’s methodology of calculating the Gross International Reserve because the BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison, made the institution aware of it since the beginning of the year.
“When it comes to Gross International Reserve, we have our definition; definition that we think is the right one. But the Bank of Ghana also has a different understanding of what Gross International Reserve should account for. And the difference here is that Bank of Ghana accounts the Oil Fund, the Heritage Fund and the Stabilization Fund as part of Gross International Reserve and I think that point was clearly made at the beginning of the year by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. That is the difference and that is the position that they have taken,” Dr. Mama stressed.
BoG Argument
He said the central bank argued strongly that the government could access those funds on approval of Parliament when shoved by crisis in order to serve as additional buffers to the economy.
“What we say is that perhaps it is more complicated than that, but we can agree to disagree and present the numbers that we think are more aligned with other countries because that is our objective,” he added.
Clarifying Issues
The IMF Director said much as the institution tried possibly to stay out of debates such as this one, he felt compelled to accept the call from the Joy FM to clarify statements made by the MFWA’s Fact Checking Ghana.
“They basically said and I quote, ‘The data presented by the government to the IMF are different from those in budget statements’,” he stated.
Dr. Mama noted “when it comes to the data we received that we worked with, in this debate, there is nothing new that we did not know about.”
Some political commentators have argued that the misrepresentation hoax will go down as the worst miscalculation by a civil society group in the country’s political history.
Source: daily guide
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The NDC is gaining the notoriety of peddling falsehood. They will throw the truth out of the window and lie to Ghanaians. There are very respectable men and women in that party but few are soiling their name. But few are making the party unattractive.
shame shame
NDC DON'T HAVE THE MEN. OH NDC AGAIN YOU PEOPLE DON'T READ MORE, YOU ARE NOT MORE EDUCATED, FAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU IS BAD. NO WONDER SAMMY GYAMFI COMMON SAMMY GYAMFI , WHO DON'T HAVE ANY RECORD ABOUT HOW LIFE IS. LEADING THEM. THEY WILL BE IN OPPOSITION FOR A VERY LONG TIME. NDC JOHN MAHAHA JOHN MAHAMA A FAILURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The NDC have lost all credibility. John Jinapor was spewing unrefined garbag£ even when the intelligent and supremely clever Dr Gideon Boako exposed his l!£s and bu--f00-nery on Ekosiisen (Asempa FM). Follow the NDC at your own peril. No credibility, misaligned leadership full of cra-p all the time.
Ami why? Are daft? The IMF say they have been aware of BOG definition and clear on what government is presented and knew what it constitutes and they are okay with it. So if you want to insist on the allegation that has failed to fly and has brought shame to NDC and the MFWA they then either you are daft, confused or deliberately maliciously refusing to accept the obvious; or indeed all of the above. Why are you more interested in throwing the country in a bad light? Is that how you disrespect our hospitality, you Togolese?
Oh Ndc, and so this was the party that was in charge of this nation for 8 good years. And what do they want, to come back and destabilize the economy again, No No No. I think they should forget about the 2020 elections and go and do a proper retrospection before they try again may be in 2032.
There's no clearance in this. The fact still remains that by the data government submitted to IMF, our deficit and other related indices for 2018 and 2019 were worst than the picture government is painting at the domestic front. You cannot deliberately exclude vital data in budget computations just to paint good picture about yourself. Government has been exposed by an independent institution-IMF. The Physical Responsibility Act would soon be activated and we shall see who is who.
2020 elections, no chance for ndc. They can continue to peddle lies and half-truths, they will be treated with the disdain and contempt they deserve. Mr Mahama again! God bless Ghana our motherland and fatherland and save us from the incompetence.
THE NDC IS A VERY DANGEROUS PARTY, NATION WRECKERS! THEY WILL NEVER COME TO POWER AGAIN.