Minority claims IMF ‘sleeping on the job,’ alleges gov’t deviating from fiscal agreements

The Minority in Parliament has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of failing to enforce its own fiscal rules, allowing the government to breach key commitments under Ghana’s ongoing economic programme.

Speaking for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam alleged that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is engaging in prohibited monetary financing by funding GoldBod—an action he says violates explicit IMF conditions.

“When the IMF will sleep and allow the government to deviate from the formula which the IMF agreed with us for determining the primary balance, we shouldn’t say it?” Dr. Adam questioned.

He continued, “When the Bank of Ghana is financing GoldBod, which is monetary financing—the IMF made us sign a Memorandum of Understanding that the Bank of Ghana would not finance government anymore. Yet the Bank of Ghana is financing GoldBod. The minister has failed to release the $279 million allocated to GoldBod in the 2025 budget, and the Bank of Ghana is financing it. This is financing of the government.”

Dr. Adam argued that such actions undermine the credibility of the IMF’s oversight role and warned that the NPP will continue to expose what it believes are violations of the Fund’s conditions.

Fiscal discipline claims questioned

The former Finance Minister also delivered a blistering critique of the government’s fiscal performance for 2025, accusing it of missing key revenue and expenditure targets while projecting an inaccurate image of discipline.

According to him, the government planned to spend GH₵5.1 billion from January to September but managed only GH₵3.8 billion, out of an annual allocation of GH₵6.7 billion.

He added that the release of funds for goods and services was just 56% of the approved allocation, while capital expenditure (CapEx) performed even worse—only GH₵11 billion out of GH₵32.6 billion was released, representing 34% for the period.

Revenue underperformance ‘makes prudence claims false’

Dr. Adam cited widespread revenue shortfalls, including:

• GH₵7.7 billion shortfall in total revenue and grants
• GH₵6.8 billion shortfall in domestic revenue
• GH₵9 billion shortfall in tax revenue

He argued that these gaps render the government’s claims of fiscal prudence indefensible.

“They came to Parliament boasting of revenue measures, but the reality is they have failed to meet their targets. How can you claim prudence when you cannot even achieve your revenue?” he asked.

The Minority insists that Ghana’s fiscal framework is weakening under the current administration and accuses the IMF of turning a blind eye to breaches that would normally trigger scrutiny or corrective actions under the programme.