We will send IMF packing – CPP

the General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nii Armah Akomfrah, has promised that in the event of a CPP ascension to power after this year’s polls, the Nkrumaist party will do away with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr. Akomfrah said the government’s flirtation with the Bretton Woods institution is responsible for the rising cost of living in the country.

Speaking with Class FM’s Parker Wilson, he pointed to the recent hikes in costs of utility and petroleum products to buttress his point.

The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) last December announced hikes in tariffs of electricity and water by 59.2% and 67.2%, respectively.

Prices of Petroleum products shot up Monday by 27%, a move that has prompted the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) to announce that it will increase transport fares this week. The prices went up following the implementation of a new tax regime.

Mr. Akomfrah, thus, wondered: “Exactly who is this NDC government running the economy for? What is the Ghana economy being run for? Is it being run for Ghanaians or is it being run for somebody else?”

“We have a government, which is not serving Ghanaians.

“And in three years, since this government took over, all we have seen is price escalation, even at the time when in many other jurisdictions, in many other countries prices of petroleum products are falling. Today the price of crude per barrel is under $40. Why are prices still rising in Ghana?”

He said the CPP will offer a better alternative to what the governing National Democratic Congress has given Ghanaians, saying its immediate priority after assuming office will be to part ways with the International Monetary Fund.

“When we are voted into power, first of all, we will send the IMF packing. Because all of this is flowing from conditionalities imposed on us. If you go and get $900 million from the IMF, they are going to give you conditions and they will then run your economy for you. That’s the situation we are in in this country,” asserted Mr. Akomfrah.

“And we have said we need to break away from this dependency. We need to be able to control our resources. We need to be able to get back to a manufacturing base for this country. We need to be able to create jobs for our people. Employment creation should be the target, not inflation.”