The IMF has imposed a $39 million penalty on Ghana for giving inaccurate figures on the national economy.

The imposition of the penalty follows information made available by the previous government to the fund for the period August 21 to December 31, 2000, which was found to be untrue.

The information relates to a prior action on clearance of external payments arrears and also to a performance criteria on non-conccessional external borrowing.

The Leader of Government Business and Majority Leader, J.H. Mensah, MP and Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, disclosed this moments after their arrival from the overseas trips, which included a meeting with the IMF officials.

The two Minister, who were part of a government delegation to Japan and Korea, later joined President Kufuor in meetings and discussions with both the IMF and the World Bank.

Foreign Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang who feels strongly about this development told an Accra radio station, JOY FM, Wednesday, that the previous government has lied, adding it is now clear to the people of Ghana which of the two governments have been lying to them.

Government is asking for a waiver on the penalty since it was not responsible for the information leading to the imposition of the penalty. The request has however been rejected on the grounds that under IMF rules, the reporting of inaccurate information attracts a levy on the defaulting country and not governments.

Ghana has no choice but to pay the penalty in two tranches in July and December this year.

Government officials describe the incident as "a big loss and a big shame" since the money could be well invested into other areas of the economy.

The deputy Managing Director of the IMF, Eduardo Animat, has meanwhile admitted that there was some inaccurate reporting on the part of the previous government.

He commended the Kufuor administration for being forthcoming and co-operative throughout enquiries into the economic problems, saying it has taken steps to prevent future occurrences including stricter procedures for authorising external borrowing, and enhanced monitoring of external debts payments.