Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, has indicated that Ghanaians should not expect any tough measures under the IMF programme to be implemented during the election year. 

If there will be tough measures at all, they will happen this year, she said.

There are fears that the real test of  Ghana’s programme with the Fund will be next year when government will have to deal with reducing its spending as against demands from the election process.

But responding to a question posed by Joy Business via a video press conference in Washington DC, Ms Lagarde said all the tough polices will actually be implemented this year.

“Well, whether it’s Ghana or any other country in the world, election years are always difficult for countries under the programme because they are targets and there are sometimes hard decisions to be made. Election years are not very conducive to those decisions, which is why for the Ghana situation a lot of the fiscal adjustment was front loaded in 2015”, she said.

She added that so many of the hard decisions have already been taken, which should hopefully make 2016 a year when the hard decisions are at a lower level.

“I’m very hopeful that Ghana continues to deliver and continues to restore the economic stability that it had and is sensible about its borrowing capacity”, she said.