In a strongly worded statement, the Minority Caucus of Ghana’s Parliament, made up of members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has asserted that the recent Staff-Level Agreement reached between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of Ghana reflects the economic achievements of the previous NPP administration, not the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
On Monday, April 15, 2025, the IMF confirmed it had reached a Staff-Level Agreement with Ghana following the fourth review of the country’s economic performance under the Fund-supported program.
If approved by the IMF Executive Board, the agreement will trigger the release of $370 million in support to Ghana.
While government communicators have heralded this as a sign of ongoing success, the Minority NPP believes the credit lies elsewhere.
Economic Performance Ties to NPP Legacy
According to the IMF, Ghana’s economic performance for the 2024 calendar year was stronger than expected. “Growth was more robust than anticipated in 2024.
The economy grew at 5.7% against a target of 3.1% and a revised target of 4%,” the IMF stated.
In response, the Minority Caucus in a statement emphasized that this growth was the result of policies and strategies implemented during the NPP’s time in office.
“Three important sectors of the economy achieved greater successes – the real sector, the external sector and the financial sector,” the statement read, highlighting robust external reserves of $8.9 billion and significant growth in the financial sector, including a 33.8% increase in total assets and a 28.8% rise in total deposits.
Fiscal Manipulation Accusation
Despite this positive outlook, the Minority raised concerns about how the government reported fiscal data, alleging inconsistencies and manipulation.
“The Staff Level Agreement has confirmed our suspicions that the government manipulated the fiscal data to achieve political objectives and to support the earlier claims by the President that the economy he inherited was run-down,” the statement claimed.
Specifically, the NPP Minority pointed to a discrepancy in the fiscal deficit reporting: “Whilst the Minister for Finance in the 2025 Budget announced the primary fiscal deficit on commitment basis…to be 3.9% of GDP, the IMF found it to be 3.25%.”
The Minority also criticized what they described as a deviation from the IMF’s own rules, claiming that the Fund included multi-year payables in its 2024 assessment:
“The Fund Ghana Mission has effectively assessed the fiscal balance on metrics that vary from all the previous reviews… We are confident that the Executive Board of IMF will review the fiscal performance with integrity.”
A Rebuttal to the NDC Government
The NPP Minority further accused the ruling NDC of attempting to discredit the previous administration’s economic stewardship.
“Reaching a Staff Level Agreement has vindicated the previous NPP government contrary to the new government’s assertion that the program had been breached and the economy ‘criminally mismanaged’ in the words of the President of the Republic,” the statement said.
They dismissed claims by the Minister for Finance, Ato Forson that the IMF program had been derailed under the previous government.
“The Staff Level Agreement has proven that many of the targets had been met and missing these few targets could not collapse the program.”
Credit Tug of War
In what seems to be a political tug-of-war over credit for the IMF’s greenlight, the Minority Caucus argued that the economic success underpinning the latest review occurred under their administration.
“The 4th Review of the IMF program is based on End-December 2024 performance… fully attributed to the economic success of the previous NPP government.”
