{"id":110315,"date":"2026-01-08T04:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=110315"},"modified":"2026-01-08T04:54:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:54:00","slug":"imf-is-real-driver-of-ghanas-stability-not-government-genius-says-tia-kabiru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=110315","title":{"rendered":"IMF is real driver of Ghana\u2019s stability, not government genius, says Tia Kabiru"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The macroeconomic stability Ghana is currently experiencing is driven more by the IMF programme than by any exceptional policy brilliance of the government, Walewale MP Dr Tia Kabiru has argued.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Joy News\u2019 PM Express on Wednesday, the NPP lawmaker said while the economy has recorded some gains, those outcomes are neither new nor unique in the life of a first-term government.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be blunt, the economy has achieved some successes to that extent, you will give credit to the managers of the economy. But is it novel? Is it the case that it has never been done in any first year of a government? And the answer is no,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr Kabiru cautioned against what he described as an exaggerated narrative about current economic performance, insisting that similar, and in some cases stronger, indicators had been recorded in the past under IMF-supported programmes.<\/p>\n

He pointed to the period between 2017 and 2019, noting that Ghana experienced growth, primary budget surpluses, and positive macroeconomic indicators, all under IMF arrangements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2017, we had similar euphoria around the first budget. We had growth that was far in excess of what we are experiencing now. We had a primary budget surplus and all the positive indicators. But we have to also know that in all these years, we had IMF-supported programmes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He warned against creating the impression that Ghana\u2019s current stability is unprecedented.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst we give credit, let us not create a sense that this is the first time, in a government\u2019s first year in office, that we are having this kind of result,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Dr Kabiru compared public sentiment then and now, citing approval ratings to reinforce his argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe euphoria around the 2017 budget, and the outcome of that budget, with the greatest respect, was far more than what we are experiencing. Approval rating for the president at the end of his first year, according to Afrobarometer, was 70 per cent. Here we are having 67 per cent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite his criticism, he said he was not dismissing the gains entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat notwithstanding, I do not want to diminish the impact, the growth, the macroeconomic and price stability that we are experiencing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he insisted that any honest assessment must place the IMF programme at the centre of the recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone wants to say that anything has contributed to this without first acknowledging the IMF-supported programme we have, which has served as an anchor, which is the big man in the house driving whatever we do, then I disagree,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He argued that without the programme, Ghana could easily slide back into fiscal indiscipline.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for the programme, we may have to see some government fiscal indiscipline,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Dr Kabiru said the President and the Finance Minister deserve credit for sticking to the programme, but not for portraying the recovery as entirely home-grown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the President and the Finance Minister have committed to the programme is worthy of commendation. But for me, we should not create a sense that it is the first time it\u2019s happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also stressed that the recovery should be viewed cautiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should only hope and pray that it is sustainable. We shouldn\u2019t be looking at the recovery as something that we should celebrate over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr Kabiru said some credit must also go to the previous government, which initiated the IMF programme now anchoring the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a programme that the previous government initiated that the previous government must actually also take some of the credit for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he argued that the true test of the economy lies ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s see how we move into the second and third year. If the government should put in the third year, then we would know the true state of the economy, and whether or not the commendation we are giving now should be temporary or permanent,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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