IMF Deal Will Not Affect Free SHS, LEAP Programmes

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said that the social intervention programmes that were introduced by the government will not be touched following the coming on board the $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Asked whether the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programmes are going to be affected by the IMF bailout, Mr Ofori-Atta said at a joint Ghana-IMF press conference in Washington Thursday, May 18 that “We protecting the vulnerable is very clear in the programme. We are doubling the LEAP programme to ensure the welfare support continues, we should not worry at all.”

He further indicated that there is no rush on the part of the government to return to the international capital market to borrow following the coming on board the $ 3 billion bailout.

When asked a question about Ghana returning to the capital market he said that “In addition to the revenue measures that we saw in the budget that are improving at GRA and that will give us the resource to move forward, curtailing and managing our expenditures are going to be important.

“There is no rush in going back to the international capital market, our expectation is that in managing our expenditure and increasing our revenue we will have the resources to do it, working towards the capital market is important because we don’t get our ratings up and make the country more attractive for investors, especially FDIs. So n one is rushing to the capital market at this juncture.”