A Financial consultant, Pro­fessor Dr Frank Forbes-Menson, has proposed the use of bank guarantees as a viable alternative for financing the country’s national budget.

According to him, the use of bank guarantees would help the country address her financial challenges rather than resorting to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Prof. Dr Forbes-Menson made the proposal during a meeting organised by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), to discuss the coun­try’s financial challenges in Accra, on Friday.

Professor Dr Frank Forbes-Mensah (second from left) with other dignitaries after the meeting

It focused on issues related to Ghana’s over dependency on IMF programmes, the revamping of Ghana International Bank (GIB) and the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

Prof. Dr Forbes-Menson explained that avalisation means guarantee of a bank to pay a bill of exchange on behalf of an importer (debtor) if the importer defaults.

He also said two separate offices to be situated in Accra and Kigali would be established under his proposed Africa Global Fund.

The aim of the African Global Fund, Prof. Dr Forbes-Mensah said, was to provide and facilitate operations of selected institutions, government projects, and manu­facturing Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) nationwide.

Prof. Dr Forbes-Menson also emphasised the need to develop a comprehensive revitalisation and resetting strategy to help revamp the Ghana International Bank that is based in the United Kingdom (UK).

He reiterated his readiness to assist anyone tasked with the reor­ganisation of the GIB, which he considered a historically long-serv­ing strategic asset that needed to be preserved, rather than being sub­jected to seizure due to judgement debt to the Traffigura Group.

Prof. Dr Forbes-Menson ex­pressed keen interest in contribut­ing to the academic field by joining the newly established faculty of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, underscoring the importance of integrating academic perspectives with practical financial strategies to foster a more robust economic environment.

Dr Kwabena Duffour, former Bank of Ghana Governor, and former Minister of Finance, em­phasised his willingness to revamp all deteriorating sectors of the economy with the aim to secure sustainable economic development

Notable among the key figures present were Dr Duffour, Mr Kwabena Dufour Jnr, Managing Director, UniBank; Ms Ivy Rose Akakpo, Administrator, University of Cape Coast, and Mr Eben A. Yelson of International Public Relations.