ABSTRACT
Ghana joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at independence in 1957 and has benefitted from fifteen stabilisation programmes with the current Extended Credit Facility (ECF) being the sixteenth. This study seeks to critically assess the performance under the programme from April 2015 to December 2017. It argues that, the fundamental challenges that necessitated a bailout from the 20th century to present has not changed that much, hence a need to address the root causes of the perennial macroeconomic challenges. The study is guided by Compliance conceptual framework which explains why states implement international agreements or otherwise and this is relevant to the study because, it explains how policies adopted will be implemented given the implications of failing to comply. Using a qualitative research design, the study finds that, lack of fiscal discipline caused the missing of programme targets under the review period especially in 2016. The study concludes that, if economic challenges that led to this stabilisation programme are not addressed holistically, the country may opt for another stabilisation programme which comes with conditionalities in the future. Conditionalities lead to the implementation of austerity measures by government such as tax hikes, reduced spending and net hiring freeze in essential sectors of the economy. This study recommends that, the root causes of Balance of Payment (BoP) deficit can be mitigated by embarking on import substitution industrialisation and export led growth. More so, strict compliance to Public Financial Management Act (2016) Act 921 will prevent fiscal slippages especially in election years. This is because the Act clearly stipulates the penalty for the breach of the law.
AMOAH-DARKWAH, E (2021). An Assessment Of Ghana’s Performance Under The Three Year Extended Credit Facility (Ecf) Programme With The International Monetary Fund (Imf) From April 2015 To December 2017. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/an-assessment-of-ghana-s-performance-under-the-three-year-extended-credit-facility-ecf-programme-with-the-international-monetary-fund-imf-from-april-2015-to-december-2017
AMOAH-DARKWAH, EMMANUEL "An Assessment Of Ghana’s Performance Under The Three Year Extended Credit Facility (Ecf) Programme With The International Monetary Fund (Imf) From April 2015 To December 2017" Afribary. Afribary, 11 Apr. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/an-assessment-of-ghana-s-performance-under-the-three-year-extended-credit-facility-ecf-programme-with-the-international-monetary-fund-imf-from-april-2015-to-december-2017. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
AMOAH-DARKWAH, EMMANUEL . "An Assessment Of Ghana’s Performance Under The Three Year Extended Credit Facility (Ecf) Programme With The International Monetary Fund (Imf) From April 2015 To December 2017". Afribary, Afribary, 11 Apr. 2021. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/an-assessment-of-ghana-s-performance-under-the-three-year-extended-credit-facility-ecf-programme-with-the-international-monetary-fund-imf-from-april-2015-to-december-2017 >.
AMOAH-DARKWAH, EMMANUEL . "An Assessment Of Ghana’s Performance Under The Three Year Extended Credit Facility (Ecf) Programme With The International Monetary Fund (Imf) From April 2015 To December 2017" Afribary (2021). Accessed April 29, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/an-assessment-of-ghana-s-performance-under-the-three-year-extended-credit-facility-ecf-programme-with-the-international-monetary-fund-imf-from-april-2015-to-december-2017