President Nana Akufo-Addo has once again rejected calls for the dismissal of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta saying such a move will amount to a betrayal of trust.

Speaking on Kumasi Based OTEC FM as part of his tour of the Ashanti Region, the President said the International Monetary Fund bailout will put the country back on growth and prosperity in 2024.

“I came to office in 2017 when we were under an IMF programme. This same Ken Ofori-Atta was able to manage the economy for the first 3 to 4 years. We were then one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We had an average growth rate of 7% a year.”

“For someone who has been able to do all these, how do I turn my back on him? For me, his performance has been excellent. That is why I have great difficulty in understanding what is going on.”

Meanwhile, the President said he should be blamed solely for government’s decision to seek support from the International Monetary Fund.

He explained the decision was not borne out of the mismanagement of the economy.

“It is very easy for people to say we went back to the IMF due to mismanagement of the economy. I do not accept that criticism because the reasons why we got into the situation we find ourselves has very little to do with us. In fact, the IMF confirmed this.”

“It was a difficult decision to take, but I think that when you are in the church like I am now, you can not but take such decisions. I am the head of the government and I take full responsibility for it.”