President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday met with the Ghana Employers Association and the Private Enterprise Federation on government’s economic programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was in line with his stakeholder consultations.

The purpose of the series of meetings is to enable the government brief stakeholders on certain aspects of the programme, and seek their support and suggestions.

President Akufo-Addo, in short remarks before the meeting which was held behind closed-doors, said the government would procure an IMF programme which would assist his government restore macro-economic stability and help repair public finances.

The programme, he added, would contribute to the process of strengthening the country’s economy and stabilise the currency.

The IMF negotiations, according to the President, would conclude soon.

He said the stakeholder engagements would enable his administration know the concerns of the stakeholders with respect to the programme and identify how best those concerns would be addressed before the negotiations were concluded.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, gave brief account of where the negotiations with the IMF had reached, the important benchmarks and issues that were being addressed in the negotiations.

The President of the Employers Association, Daniel Acheampong, pledged the association’s support to the government to help address the economic challenges the country was facing.

He said employers were mindful of the external forces that had led to the economic challenges, adding that “although we are feeling the pinch, we know that by working together, we can address this”.

The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana have commenced discussions with the IMF for an IMF-supported programme, confirming that Ghana’s debt was on a sustainable path.

The government is putting together a comprehensive economic programme which will form the basis for the IMF negotiations.

The programme seeks to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macro-economic stability underpinned by key structural reforms and social protection.

The government is actively engaging stakeholders, both public and private, and hopes to conclude discussions with the needed funds as soon as possible.