Ghana is set to receive some US$600 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after an Executive Board approval, following a Staff-Level Agreement on the first review with the Fund’s Mission on Thursday.
“Ghana will have access to about US$600 million in financing once the review is approved by IMF Management and formally completed by the IMF Executive Board.”
He added that “Upon completion of the Executive Board review, Ghana would have access to SDR 451.3 million (about US$600 million), bringing the total IMF financial support to SDR 902.8 million (about US$1.2 million).”
Mr. Stephane Roudet, IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, said this at the end of the first review of Ghana’s US$3 billion loan-support programme in Accra.
He, however, noted that “an agreement with official creditors on a debt treatment in line with official creditors with programme parameters would provide the needed financing assurances.”
The Chief Mission indicated that the country’s fiscal performance with respect to the objectives of the IMF-loan support programme had been strong, as the primary deficit on a commitment basis was four percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Also, macroeconomic policies had been adjusted by Ghanaian authorities, domestic debt restructuring had been “successfully” completed, and wide-ranging reforms had been launched amid an acute economic and financial crisis.
“These actions are already generating positive results, as growth in 2023 has proven more resilient than initially envisaged, inflation has declined, the fiscal and external positions have improved, and the exchange rate has stabilised,” Mr. Roudet said.
The Chief Mission called on Ghana’s external creditors to move forward and agree on an appropriate debt treatment in line with the financing assurances they provided in May 2023.
The first review of Ghana’s IMF-loan support programme saw the mission hold meetings with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President; Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister; and Dr. Ernerst Addisson, Governor, Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Representatives from various government agencies as well as other stakeholders were engaged during the two-week review.
Ashantibiz
