The Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has hinted that his government will try to renegotiate terms of Ghana’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when re-elected into office in 2024.
In an interview with Reuters, the former President said he will initiate moves to boost local ownership of future oil and mining projects.
Sharing his views on the IMF bailout, Mr Mahama said “I’ve been in an IMF programme before, when I was president, and I know that the IMF is not averse to sitting and talking and renegotiating issues.”
Touching on the countries excessive borrowing, the 2024 presidential hopeful said he would amend a public finance management law to introduce a compulsory debt-to-GDP ceiling of 60-70% to prevent excessive borrowing.
On taxes, former President Mahama indicated that he would not seek to raise taxes. He continued that, he would respect existing production agreements with mining and oil companies, and added that his plan is for the country to gain higher stakes in future projects of these companies through the Minerals Income and Investment Fund.
“I think we are at the upper range of taxes on profit … But I do think that in some cases the level at which we locked in the royalties is low,” he said.