Former Chief Executive Officer of the UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, says Ghana has failed as a state considering we have gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout 18 times since independence.
Speaking during an interview on Business Focus on TV3, Amoabeng queried what the use of independence was if we have to keep running back to the same colonial masters every few years for aid because we messed up our economy.
“We’ve gone to the IMF, 17; some say 18 times and for me, it only tells me one thing [that] we have failed completely with our independence,” he said.
“Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah had a vision, fantastic, envied by the whole world. When we had independence, Ghana was the most promising colony with very educated people by comparison; great resources, infrastructure, name it. And Kwame Nkrumah said we will manage our own affairs.
“When you call IMF, you know what it means; it means you’ve managed and it should come and support you gain credibility outside…So, my issue is the colonisers that we sacked, we’ve gone to them since independence – 17; 18 times – they shouldn’t have gone there. The same thing is any time they come, they come and worsen your situation and improve their situation.,” Prince Kofi Amoabeng lamented.
He continued: “Go back to other IMF programmes; divestiture, cut down on salaries, freeze employment and what do you do? They know that you are going to mismanage the monies. If Ghana has visited IMF for the 18th time, don’t you believe they will come again? The point is that if we had to go to the IMF, and this time that they’ve come, we should sign a contract with them for them to stay because when they go, we will mismanage again and then we will go to them and they will come back,”
He said that we shouldn’t be fooled because IMF keeps bailing us out – they keep doing it because it benefits them more than it benefits us.
“And this is not free. They are a bank giving Ghana money. We pay for their travel expenses, hotel expenses and when they come because they know the potential of Ghana in terms of resources and others, IMF will always bail Ghana out. IMF will never say that the situation of Ghana is that bad and therefore they can’t handle it; they will always bail us out,” Amoabeng said.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com