‘This is our ultimate IMF programme,’ Mahama says

President John Mahama has described Ghana’s aid package with the International Monetary Fund as the ‘ultimate IMF programme’ after he was savaged by the Trade Union Congress to abandon the deal.

According to him, expenditure targets are still on track despite figures showing the government has overspent than projected in the first half year.

The fiscal figures for the first five months of this year show that the government has spent more than GHC 2 billion than forecasted.

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“I wish to reiterate my earlier statement that this is our ultimate IMF programme,” president Mahama said. “We will finish hard. Next year is the last year and we will go back to the homegrown fiscal policy.”

His comments came after the Trades Union Congress (TUC) asked him to abandon the IMF programme and invest in the homegrown fiscal policy.

President Mahama also noted he will stick strictly to the budget and the appropriation act passed by parliament, a comment analysts have said was directed at the striking Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG).

Members of CLOGSAG have been on strike for the past two weeks, demanding that the government pays them their respective market premium before they return to work.

The National Labour Commission described the strike as illegal because CLOGSAG did not inform the Commission before embarking on the strike.

Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu, asked them to return to work or forfeit their August salaries. The Association subsequently accused the Minister of acting in bad faith.