Ghana is on right track following IMF staff-level agreement, says Hajia Rabi Salifu

Hajia Rabi Salifu, the national deputy director of communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed confidence in Ghana’s economic trajectory after the country reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on economic reforms.

The IMF announced on Friday (4 October) that it had completed a third review of Ghana’s US$3 billion loan programme.

This agreement, which is subject to IMF management approval and Executive Board consideration, will see the country have access to about US$360 million, bringing the total financial support disbursed to Ghana to approximately US$1.92 billion.

Speaking on Asaase Radio’s Big Bulletin on Saturday (5 October), Salifu highlighted the global confidence Ghana is garnering, especially after earlier predictions of economic collapse.

“It’s so refreshing to sit back and admire the level of confidence Ghana is actually gathering across the globe,” Salifu said. “People were predicting that we were going to crash; people were saying the economy was already nothing to write home about.”

Salifu attributed the country’s resilience to strong leadership. “Fortunately for us, with the kind of leadership we have as a country, look at where we are today.”

“The speed at which the first staff-level agreement even came across was so nice; that was under three months, I guess, and from there, we have been very progressive from a point to a point.”

She also lauded the government’s focus on domestic revenue mobilisation efforts, praising the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) significant increase in tax collection.

“What actually makes me so happy is the fact that we have turned to look inwardly,” she added. “That’s the revenue mobilisation drive, we went on, and for GRA to be able to multiply tax collection by close to 1000% was so or has been so refreshing to note. So for me, yes, we are on a very good course.”