{"id":371580,"date":"2025-12-25T20:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T20:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/371580\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T20:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T20:05:10","slug":"not-all-imf-solutions-are-in-our-interest-govt-must-be-able-to-draw-the-line-to-ensure-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/371580\/","title":{"rendered":"Not All IMF Solutions Are in Our Interest; Gov\u2019t Must Be Able to Draw the Line to Ensure Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid the latest IMF Country report<\/a> questioning the country\u2019s Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme (DGPP), Natural resource governance expert Dr. Steve Manteaw has cautioned Ghana against treating IMF advice as a one-size-fits-all solution.<\/p>\n

Dr. Manteaw argues that while the Fund\u2019s concerns are understandable, not every prescription necessarily serves the country\u2019s long-term interest.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the IMF\u2019s concerns over the Bank of Ghana\u2019s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, which has led to the Central Bank incurring a $214 million loss, Dr. Manteaw<\/a> says Ghana must engage the IMF with confidence, blending external advice with homegrown solutions shaped by local realities.<\/p>\n

He noted that the government must be able to draw the line in its dealings with the Bretton-Woods institution.<\/p>\n

\"NotKristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to point out that, not all IMF prescriptions are in our interest. We ought to recognise that we are the reason they exist,\u201d he bluntly indicated.<\/p>\n

IMF Concerns Are Valid, But Not Absolute<\/p>\n

In his justification for his strong stance, Dr. Manteaw acknowledges why the IMF is uneasy about Ghana\u2019s reliance on commodity exports, including gold, to support the local currency.<\/p>\n

He admits that, indeed, commodity prices are volatile, and global downturns can quickly weaken foreign exchange inflows.<\/p>\n

However, he warns against abandoning strategies that are working simply because they do not fit neatly into IMF models. In his view, Ghana\u2019s task is not blind compliance, but a smart balance.<\/p>\n

Use the Windfall to Fix Structural Weaknesses<\/p>\n

To sustain the gains from the domestic gold programme, Dr. Manteaw recommends that Ghana channel part of the current foreign exchange windfall into strengthening domestic production.<\/p>\n

Producing more locally, he argues, reduces demand for foreign currency and eases pressure on the cedi.<\/p>\n

He points out that this approach is not new. Past leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah and Ignatius Acheampong pursued similar ideas under what was known as import substitution, producing locally what the country previously imported.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is imperative to use part of the current windfall to support domestic production in order to reduce demand for forex (both Nkrumah and Acheampong called it \u201cImport Substitution,\u201d he recommended.<\/p>\n

\"NotGovernor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson<\/p>\n

Food Production Must Be a Priority<\/p>\n

One of his strongest recommendations is renewed support for food production.<\/p>\n

Ghana spends heavily on food imports, draining scarce foreign exchange. By boosting local agriculture, the country can cut imports, stabilise food prices, and protect the currency at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should again support food production to reduce food imports,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Dr. Manteaw also calls for a shift away from exporting mainly raw materials. Ghana, he says, must expand into finished and semi-processed goods that earn more value on the global market and reduce vulnerability to price swings.<\/p>\n

\"Not<\/p>\n

Taking IMF Advice Without Losing Sovereignty<\/p>\n

In a striking comparison, Dr. Manteaw reminds Ghanaians that powerful economies chart their own paths. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he notes, do not stabilise their currencies with goodwill or theory, but with hard-earned export revenues from oil.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cWe will take their advice, but let\u2019s blend it with our own ideas, afterall, the Saudis and the Emiratis do not shore up their currencies with chocolate but with dollars earned from their oil exports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ghana, he says, should listen to the IMF, but must also know when to draw the line.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amid the latest IMF Country report questioning the country\u2019s Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme (DGPP), Natural resource governance expert…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[64,63,99,164],"class_list":{"0":"post-371580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}