Dafeamekpor accuses IMF of anti-NDC bias over SOE governance report

Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of showing political bias against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government following the Fund’s latest assessment of governance in Ghana’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Mr Dafeamekpor questioned what he described as the IMF’s tendency to criticise NDC governments over practices he believes were also prevalent under previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administrations. His comments followed an IMF Technical Assistance Report on Ghana’s SOEs, which identified the politicisation of board and chief executive appointments as a major weakness in the governance of state-owned enterprises.

The report said that although Ghana had established a framework intended to make appointments more structured and merit-based, “in practice appointments remain highly political and centralised in the Presidency. ” It also said boards of major SOEs were largely dominated by political appointees, with board chairs frequently being ministers, Members of Parliament or prominent party officials. Dafeamekpor challenges IMF assessment . Reacting in a post on X, the South Dayi MP questioned the basis for what he considered the IMF’s selective criticism of NDC administrations. “So what exactly do these IMF Country Directors want from the NDC anytime we are in Govt? ” he asked. Mr Dafeamekpor said he had observed, “the alacrity with which the IMF criticises an NDC-Govt in respect of matters that they’ll actually facilitate for an NPP-Govt to implement. ” He cited the appointment of former NPP National Chairman Peter Mac Manu as Board Chairman of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and former NPP minister Hackman Owusu-Agyemang as Board Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board…