The Government has defended its decision to fall back on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for funding to prop up the economy. Its defence follows criticism by a former Deputy Finance Minister, Prof George Gyan-Baffour that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government rushed into going to the IMF for loans soon after the government assumed power in 2009. Prof Baffour, in an interaction with the media during the visit of the deputy IMF boss, John Lipsky in Accra on Wednesday, said the economy was only going through what he called “transitory excesses” which did not demand the action the government took. “First the trend in balance of payment did not suggest any chronic balance of payment difficulties warranting a loan from the IMF and therefore a programme,” he said, and in a gentle tone accused the IMF of colluding with the government to take loans from the Breton Woods institution. Prof Baffour cited what he said were excess balance of payments in 2005. But Deputy Finance Minister Fifi Kwetey says the government took the best decision under the circumstances. Mr Kwetey said a government which does not have the necessary discipline would always require the assistance of the IMF to whip it in line. “You actually do not need IMF if you have the capacity to keep your own discipline “The political [system] we operate however makes it extremely difficult to be able to hold down discipline,” he said. Mr Kwetey accuses the previous government of taking part of the $750-million it had invested on the international financial market to pay salaries in November 2008 when the government then was hard pressed for cash. Meanwhile, investment banker Yoofi Grant, has emphasised the need for Ghana to develop its own solutions. Mr Grant also emphasises the need for the country to take bold decisions such as plunging into the international financial market to invest. Listen to excerpts of the comments by Prof Gyan-Baffour, Yoofi Grant and Fifi Kwetey Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana