The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Gideon Boako, has challenged the government’s claim that Ghana emerged from its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme with a resilient economy, arguing that recent developments show the country’s economic stability was largely sustained by the Fund’s support.

According to the Tano North Member of Parliament, the conclusion of Ghana’s IMF-supported programme has exposed underlying weaknesses in the economy, with rising fuel and food prices providing early evidence that the government’s celebrated macroeconomic resilience was not sustainable.

Dr Boako said the country’s economic condition had become exposed now that the IMF safety net was no longer in place.

“IMF programme is over. The economy is naked again. After all, the much talked about resilience by government was just a hoax. The quality of our fiscal consolidation is also highly questionable. It is more of development suppression than fiscal consolidation. Fuel prices, tomato prices, and so on are really showing the skin of the economy,” he said.

His comments come just days after the Executive Board of the IMF formally concluded Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility programme, with the government presenting the successful completion of the programme as evidence of restored macroeconomic stability and sound economic management.

However, Dr Boako questioned that narrative, insisting that the government’s fiscal consolidation strategy had relied more on cutting development expenditure than implementing reforms capable of delivering sustainable economic growth.

He argued that reducing spending on development projects to narrow the fiscal deficit could not be regarded as genuine fiscal consolidation, warning that such an approach risked undermining long-term economic expansion.

According to him, the true condition of the economy is increasingly reflected in the prices consumers pay for essential goods and services.

He pointed to rising fuel prices and increasing food costs, particularly tomatoes, as indicators that economic pressures remained significant despite the government’s claims of recovery.

The legislator’s remarks add to his recent criticisms of the government’s handling of the economy.

In recent months, Dr Boako has consistently argued that Ghana’s economic recovery was driven largely by the discipline imposed under the IMF programme, together with favourable external conditions, rather than what he described as superior domestic economic management.

His latest intervention also underscores the growing debate over the country’s post-IMF economic outlook.

While government officials maintain that Ghana has restored macroeconomic stability through prudent fiscal management and structural reforms implemented under the IMF programme, critics contend that the apparent improvements mask deeper structural weaknesses and have been achieved at the expense of public investment and economic development.

Dr Boako argued that the impact of those policy choices is already being felt by ordinary Ghanaians through higher transport costs and rising prices of basic food items, placing additional pressure on household budgets.

With the IMF programme now concluded, analysts say the responsibility for maintaining macroeconomic stability, sustaining investor confidence, controlling inflation and accelerating growth rests squarely on domestic economic policy.

The debate over whether the government can maintain fiscal discipline while promoting growth and protecting living standards is expected to remain at the centre of Ghana’s economic discourse in the months ahead.