Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, a one-time General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has asked Ghanaians to brace up for tougher times amid an economic crunch.

He has also reiterated that the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta should have resigned or been relieved of his post since Ghana opted to look to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support.

Agyapong in an interview with Kweku Sintim Misa on the KSM Show restated his view that Ofori-Atta’s dogged anti-IMF stance was reason why he needed to resign after government opted to sign up for a programme.

“I know how these agencies work and sometimes they want to be very diplomatic. I am sure that they are not happy that he is the one leading it. In their view, they want a stark departure from what happened in the past.

“The first thing I expected was for the president to relieve Ken of his duties, he hasn’t done that, that is his choice but we should expect very tough negotiations going forward and it is not going to be easy,” he told KSM.

Ghana is currently facing economic headwinds with a domestic debt programme facing opposition from stakeholders – largely from institutional bondholders.

Government is hoping to close a deal on debt restructuring at home in order to be able to access an International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility to support the failing economy.

Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta on December 6 announced that government was restructuring bonds held by institutional investors, putting them into four groups stretching 15 years. With interest also spread in four tranches in four years.

The Domestic Debt Exchange programme as it is called has faced some stiff opposition from major professional groups and workers union in the country.