Finance Expert, Joe Jackson has hinted that the failure of the government to secure an IMF deal in the coming days will spell doom for the country’s economy.
According to the Director of Business Operations at Dalex Finance, given the almost empty international reserves of the country, the assistance of the International Monetary Fund is the surest way to salvage the situation else the country runs into a ditch.
Ghana’s reserves position was disclosed by the recent 2023 International Monetary Fund Regional Economic Outlook Report. The report revealed that the country’s net international reserves are expected to end in 2023 at approximately three weeks of import cover (0.8 months).
The report further disclosed that only Zimbabwe (0.2 months), South Sudan (0.5 months), and Ethiopia (0.6 months) in Sub-Saharan Africa are projected to have lower import cover than Ghana.
Reacting to the report on Accra-based Citi News, Mr. Joe Jackson explained that the country will have no import cover by the end of this year should the government fails to secure the IMF deal. He added that the country will then be heading toward a worsened economic crisis.
“At this moment I cannot fathom what will happen if we don’t secure the IMF deal,” he stated.
“We will have no import cover at all at the end of the year. It’s not a good sign at all, it shows how severe the economic crisis that we are facing is. It’s been coming for a long time,” he added.
He further disclosed the possible repercussions that might befall the economy in the event the government fails to broker a deal with the Britton Woods Institution.
“We have to come to the table, we have to do everything required to get the deal, otherwise we will face massive shortages of foreign currencies. We will be facing Dumsor because we cannot import fuel. There will be fuel shortages, we won’t be able to import drugs, tomatoes, or chicken. This is a cry to the labour front, pensioners and all the other stakeholders who have a role to play in making sure we get the IMF deal by the end of May”.
“Let’s get to the table and realise how dire the situation is. Those kicking against the DDEP should come on board. We are between a rock and an extremely hard place. As much as we say this is not fair, the country needs their funds. The sad thing is that somebody has to pay. We have got to come together as a nation to resolve this issue,” Mr. Joe Jackson noted.
