Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of meddling in Ghana’s local partisan politics and taking sides against the NDC government.
His reaction follows a recent IMF report which questioned political appointments to the boards of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), citing the appointment of the Board Chairman of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) as an example.
In a strongly-worded statement, Mr Dafeamekpor questioned the motives of the Fund’s Country Directors whenever the NDC is in government.
“So what exactly do these IMF Country Directors want from the NDC anytime we are in Govt?” he queried.
The Majority Chief Whip said he has observed what he described as the Fund’s double standards in its dealings with NDC and NPP administrations.
“I have observed rather disconcertingly, the alacrity with which the IMF criticizes an NDC-Govt in respect of matters that they’ll actually facilitate for an NPP-Govt to implement,” he stated.
To buttress his point, Mr Dafeamekpor cited two examples from the previous Akufo-Addo administration, noting that Peter Mac Manu and Hackman Owusu-Agyeman served as Board Chairs of GPHA and COCOBOD respectively.
“Obviously, the IMF didn’t know this and of course, didn’t also know the political coloration nor rank of these men who led GPHA & COCOBOD Boards at the time,” he said.
The South Dayi MP said he could produce evidence of political appointments under previous NPP governments.
“I wish to assure the IMF-Ghana Country officers that, I can produce a full list of NPP Senior Ranks & MPs who served on every Board of every SOE within 2017 and 2024. I can also do so from 2001 to 2008,” he stated.
Mr Dafeamekpor linked the latest report on SOE boards to an earlier report by the Fund on the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), which he described as tainted.
“Mr IMF Country Director, by your tainted GoldBod report a couple of weeks prior and your present report in question, tells me without doubt that, you have descended into the local political arena of conflict and taken sides opposite to me,” he said.
He added: “You must never be trusted again as an independent and neutral supra-national financial institution.”
The Majority Chief Whip was emphatic that government would not be dictated to on its gold programme.
“As for our gold, ‘forgerrit’. We will no longer sell it to you. You can continue to fabricate & skew our country reports with a huge anti NDC slant. GoldBod ad vitam!!!!” he declared.
The IMF is yet to respond to the accusations.
It would be recalled that in its recent assessment, the IMF flagged political appointments to SOE boards as a governance risk and cited the GPHA board chairmanship as an example of political influence on state enterprises.
