The Minority side in parliament is asking Ghanaians to be prepared for the shocks that will accompany the bailout secured from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the caucus, many of the conditionalities could have been avoided if government heeded their call to go to the Fund earlier in 2022.

They made this known in a statement signed by Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson.

In a May 18 press release, he explained that his side “has on countless occasions cautioned this government that the fruits of its crass mismanagement of Ghana’s economy through wanton misuse of borrowed funds for consumption purposes, had long crystalized into a crisis.”

“We urged government to immediately seek the Fund’s support long ago, a call that was flatly disregarded.

Already, the IMF has identified the scrapping of tax exemptions, adjustment of levies on fuel, and an increase in income tax as some measures the Ghanaian government could implement to boost revenue mobilization under its $3 billion support programme.

This is contained in the Fund’s May 2023 country report on Ghana’s request for the $3 billion support programme.

On the back of these and other conditionalities, Casiel Ato Forson wants Ghanaians to be on the lookout for fallout from the arrangement and adjust accordingly.

“Let us brace ourselves for the full consequences of this IMF deal, which will without doubt bite hard on Ghanaians, especially the youth. This is not a counsel of despair, but a reality that will soon dawn on all of us,” he concluded.

Read full statement below: