Professor of Finance at Andrews University, Michigan, USA, Prof William Peprah, has entreated the incoming Finance Minister to prioritise the equitable distribution of International Monetary Fund (IMF) funds.

He believes that the proper allocation of these resources is crucial for maintaining international partnerships and stabilising the country's financial position.

"...And that is what we are currently seeing, that there's this pressure coming in. So the work is for the incoming finance minister, to ensure that there is equitable distribution of these IMF funds coming to Ghana, he said in an interview on Joy FM's Middaynews on Thursday, January 16.

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The call for equitable distribution comes amid rising international criticism of Ghana’s handling of its IMF funds. U.S. Senator James Risch recently appealed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to condition further IMF disbursements to Ghana on the repayment of debts owed to American companies.

Prof Peprah warned that failure to address these concerns could lead to severe consequences, including the withholding of future IMF support.

"What may happen is that if IMF is able to ascertain that Ghana is not paying these partners, they also may have to have the right to say we are going to reduce the payment that we have to send to Ghana to pay for these suppliers."

To address these issues, Prof Peprah emphasised the need for a comprehensive review of Ghana’s current processes.

Additionally, he highlighted the IMF’s primary mandate: ensuring global trade stability so that the economic challenges of one country do not negatively impact others.

He explained that the IMF has provided financial support to Ghana to address the balance of payment deficits, a mechanism designed to meet obligations to international trade partners, including companies in the United States and Canada.

"Technically, the balance of payment account must be used to settle our international trade partners, which includes the US and the companies being mentioned, those in Canada. What is currently happening is that we have received some part of the money.

"However, equitable distribution is not happening, and that is why we are seeing that we are getting these pressures from Senator James E. Risch and also from Canada and other parties. All that they are asking is that once IMF is playing the role to ensure that Ghana receives money to support its balance of payment, that money must be distributed equitably to companies that are multinational so that the countries will not suffer," he stated.

Prof Peprah also proposed leveraging Ghana’s $4.2 billion in international reserves to settle outstanding debts with multinational suppliers.

According to him, this move would demonstrate Ghana’s commitment to honouring its obligations and would ease tensions with trade partners, paving the way for the release of the next $750 million tranche of IMF funding.