How Asantehene single-handedly rescued Ghana from HIPC – Former President Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has opened up about how the Ashantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, single-handedly saved Ghana from any economic catastrophe, during his tenure as president.

Speaking in a recent interview with Opemsuo Radio, former President Kufuor said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided to throw out a request by his government for a bailout programme because of rumours of some corrupt activities at the Ministry of Finance.

He said that at that time Ghana had been classified as a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) which made it difficult for his government to get the needed funds to run the country and was in dire need of the IMF bailout.

Former President Kufuor said that when the Otumfuo heard that the IMF had thrown out Ghana’s request, he took action and within days the fund accepted Ghana’s request.

However, at the last minute, the IMF meeting omitted Ghana from the agenda due to reports of irregularities at the Ministry of Finance.

The former president said that the Asantehene managed to arrange for him (Kufuor) to meet leaders of the World Bank and the IMF which did not only lead to Ghana getting the needed support from the fund but also helped the country get out of HIPC.

“At that time, Ghana owed around $8 billion but that approval saved Ghana over $4 billion,” he said.