Former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper has stated that Ghana’s staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will empower the Fund to commence a series of measures that will compel government to take critical fiscal decisions.

He stated for example that the IMF Board may ask the Bank of Ghana to stop government funding, while government is forced to implement some strict measures as part of conditionalities.

Speaking to Journalists through a zoom presentation, Mr. Terkper stated that it will be important to undergo the necessary roadmaps that will be imposed by the Board of the IMF for a final approval of the deal.

He stated that the board will deliberate over the staff agreement deal and make some recommendations to government.

“When the document eventually goes to the IMF Board and is released, you will see the extent to which the Bank of Ghana measures in financing government expenditure will be stopped”, he said.

Mr. Terkper stated that Board will carefully review Ghana’s fiscal stance and prescribe measures to avoid slippages.

This, he said will include the current situation where the Bank of Ghana is providing support for the government by over 5 percent of the previous year’s revenue.

“Today, the Bank of Ghana is spending about ₵40 billion or so to support the budget. This will have to go down to zero. This is the path we are threading. We just started the journey.”