Minister of State at the Finance Ministry outlines what gov’t will do with IMF’s $600m

Minister of State at the Finance Ministry Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has revealed what the first tranche of money received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be used for.

According to him, part of the money will be used to support government’s policies and programmes approved by the Parliament.

“The budget has programmes and projects which already have been approved by Parliament and when we talk of budget support, we have the financing component.

“Of course, there is a deficit that we have to finance, we would have gone to borrow to finance that deficit and so with the IMF money coming in, if you go to support same projects, road projects, railway projects, medical facilities, telecommunication,” he said.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Dr Adams explained that though the government’s intention of channelling the $600 million might seem to many that the fund is being misappropriated, it was the best way to sustain Ghana’s foreign reserves and undertake developments.

“In the past, IMF support has gone to provide a balance of payment support, the Bank of Ghana will just receive the money and use that to build their reserve.

“Now you are having two post benefits, the money comes to the Bank of Ghana account and the bank will also give cedis and it is not just on the spot. The release of cedis by the Bank of Ghana is going to be over time.

“You certainly will have the reserve position strengthened whilst you also receive the cedi equivalent of the dollars to finance programs and projects approved in the budget,” he told host Evans Mensah.

Reacting to Mr Adam’s claim, MP for Yapei-Kusawgu Constituency, Abdulai John Jinapor quizzed “Are you confirming on this programme [Newfile] that this $600 million will be used for road construction payment like you are saying? Can you confirm that on authority in this programme [Newsfile]?

He continued that, the project the Minister of State had mentioned was not listed in the budget appendix 3A, which is a summary of central government operations.

Mr Jinapor added that Mr Adam’s claim that the money will be used to finance roads “will not happen.”