That, he said, was because constantly seeking bailouts from the organisation creates instabilities thereby threatening the country\u2019s democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis should be the last time because going and coming to the IMF creates a certain instability in the whole system and reduces the faith that people have in our democracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He made the statement in a television interview on the Voice of America (VOA) Straight Talk Africa programme in Washington DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Home-grown policies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Mahama said engaging in an IMF programme would bring the country\u2019s debts back to sustainable levels and help to achieve policy credibility which would motivate investors to do business in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, he urged the government to also develop home-grown policies aimed at transforming the economy to ensure investor confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Mahama also said the government must make reducing the budget of the Office of the President a key aspect in the negotiations with the IMF which, according to the former president, was necessary to show the government\u2019s commitment to reduce expenditure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey have to cut the budget to the Office of the President to show the way because if the president himself is cutting the budget of government machinery, then it means everybody must be prepared to make a sacrifice,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former president therefore stated that the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would strengthen stated-owned institutions and undertake a constitutional review as part of their strategy to sustain the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have been operating it for more 26 years and I think the time has come to look at it again and do some tweaking so that we can have a proper constitutional environment in which to grow the economy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n