The Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta has said he will not resign over Ghana’s decision to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout although he was against it in principle.
On 1 July 2022, President Akufo-Addo authorised Ofori-Atta to commence formal engagements with the Fund. Following the announcement, there have been several calls on the minister to quit.
However, speaking to the media at the ongoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) annual national delegates’ conference in Accra on Saturday (16 July), Ofori-Atta said resigning is not the best option now.
“I will not resign,” the finance minister said.
“It is almost like telling a father to resign from his children because he is changed his mind. There are times that decisions have to be made for the survival of a country and therefore if circumstances such as COVID or the Ukraine war occur which are not typical, it does change the environment, and sensible people will change their minds,” Ofori-Atta added.
“The engagement with the IMF will seek to provide balance-of-payments support as part of a broader effort to quicken Ghana’s build-back in the face of challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and, recently, the Russia-Ukraine crises,” an earlier government statement read.
