Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has expressed concern over Ghana’s frequent recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He warned that repeated bailouts are not a sustainable answer to the country’s persistent economic challenges.

In an interview on Channel One TV on Monday, December 15, Prof. Oquaye observed that Ghana has turned to the IMF on as many as 17 occasions, largely due to chronic revenue shortfalls that make it difficult for governments to meet expenditure obligations.

He explained that IMF programmes are often triggered when a country reaches acute financial distress, forcing authorities to seek emergency assistance to stabilise the economy.

“Ghana has been to the IMF 17 times. IMF becomes a bailout situation when we are so cash-strapped and need their support,” he said.

According to Prof. Oquaye, the frequency of IMF interventions underscores deeper structural problems that have remained unresolved over the years.

He cautioned that reliance on external support cannot replace the need for fundamental economic reforms.

“These 17 times of being at the IMF cannot be our therapy. It’s not helping us,” he stressed.

He further pointed to the persistent imbalance between government revenue and expenditure as the core driver of the problem, noting that successive administrations continue to spend beyond the country’s means.

“Our financial income, as against our output expenditure, doesn’t match,” he said.

Prof. Oquaye concluded by urging policymakers to focus on long-term strategies to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and fiscal discipline, rather than repeatedly relying on IMF support as a stopgap measure.