Economist and Member of Parliament for Tano North, Dr. Gideon Boako, has questioned the strength of Ghana’s post-IMF economic recovery, arguing that the country’s economy has been left “naked” following the conclusion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
According to him, the recent increases in fuel prices and the rising cost of essential food items such as tomatoes expose underlying weaknesses in the economy that were previously masked during the IMF-supported programme.
“The IMF programme is over. The economy is naked again,” Dr. Boako stated, suggesting that the government’s repeated claims of building a resilient economy are now being tested by market realities.
He contended that the resilience often touted by the government was more apparent than real, describing it as “a hoax” in light of the renewed pressure on the cost of living.
Dr. Boako also questioned the quality of the country’s fiscal consolidation efforts, arguing that the measures adopted to restore macroeconomic stability may have come at the expense of economic development and productive growth.
“The quality of our fiscal consolidation is also highly questionable. It is more of development suppression than fiscal consolidation,” he said.
The economist’s comments suggest that while the government may have achieved improvements in key fiscal indicators during the IMF programme, those gains have not translated into sustained relief for households facing rising living costs.
He maintained that the recent surge in fuel prices, coupled with increasing food prices, particularly tomatoes, offers a more accurate reflection of the economy’s underlying condition than headline macroeconomic indicators.
It must, however, be noted that as part of efforts to cushion Ghanaians, the government has announced a GHC2 subsidy on diesel. The relief, however, did not cover petrol and LPG, raising concerns about the equity of the subsidy.
Dr. Gideon Boako, by these remarks, is adding to the ongoing debate over Ghana’s economic direction following the completion of the IMF programme, with attention increasingly shifting from fiscal targets and inflation figures to whether ordinary Ghanaians are experiencing tangible improvements in their daily lives.
For many consumers, the latest increases in fuel prices and food expenses have reinforced concerns that despite signs of macroeconomic stabilisation, the cost-of-living challenge remains a significant burden for households and businesses alike.
