The General Secretary of the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Edward Kareweh, has said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not the solution to Ghana’s economic woes.
According to him, the Fund contrary to being a solution is rather doing more harm to the nation.
Mr. Kareweh declared that going to the IMF is dangerous to the economic health of the country noting that “Ghana will have no peace until it stops [its visit to the IMF]”
He made the following remarks in his preliminary submissions during an ‘Imani-GIZ Reform Dialogue’ on the topic: “How will Ghana’s IMF deal impact investment in agric and manufacturing sector?”
Speaking on the impact of Ghana’s IMF bail out on agric sector, Edward Kareweh questioned what actions the Fund would take when government fails to implement policies that would boast the sector.
He cited some cut backs that government has made which he believes inhibits the growth of agriculture and asked if the Fund would be bold enough to compel government to reverse its decisions.
The question I want to put forward is this: “what will IMF do when government decides to de-invest in agriculture. When you take this year for instance and that is in relation to the Planting for Food and Jobs, last year government subsidy was 36% on fertilizer and seed. This year, government decided to cut down to 15%; what will IMF do… can IMF force government to go back and increase the subsidy to 36% or more?”
“What will IMF do when government refuses to fix the roads to the farm gates… where the food is produced and where the food will come from, the roads to that place are deplorable, what will IMF do… can IMF force government to build those roads?”, he quizzed again.
He finally announced that “these are things that IMF has no solution.”
He further asked what the IMF would do should government present wrong data and statistics on agric. He said that government bragged about maize and rice production in the State of the Nation’s Address on January 5, 2021 yet three months after that there was maize shortage.
In his view, IMF is basically propagating and enforcing market-oriented corporate governance and driving unbridled liberalisation as well as talking about unbridled free trade and cutting the size of government.
He concluded that the Fund should be bold enough to deny Ghana financial aid when the country refuses to be fiscally disciplined and mismanages the economy.
“IMF should also be honest enough to say Ghana I am sorry you have come to us over and over many times… we helped you [but] when we left you mismanaged again therefore this time we are not ready to come to you. We won’t support you…”
