The International Monetary Fund is optimistic the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and his team are on track to revive Ghana’s economy.
According to Fund’s Mission Chief to Ghana, Stephane Roudet, the Ghanaian economy is showing signs of stabilisation, with softening inflation, an increase in international reserves, and a less volatile exchange rate.
This indeed manifested in a strong Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2023. The Ghana Statistical Service data further revealed a positive development in the country’s real GDP, with a 1.1 percentage points increase over the previous quarter’s record by 0.3 percentage points.
Mr. Roudet expressed confidence that measures implemented to preserve financial stability are yielding results, adding, reforms are envisaged to encourage private investment, growth, and job creation.
During its recent visit, the IMF Mission Team took stock of the government’s progress in meeting key commitments under the Fund-supported programme.
These will be formally assessed in the context of the first review of the Extended Credit Facility arrangement, which is expected to be undertaken in September.
In discussing progress on the debt restructuring operations, the team reiterated that timely restructuring agreements with creditors are essential to secure the expected benefits of the Fund-supported program.
The visit was part of IMF’s regular engagement with the Ghanaian authorities and other stakeholders. The discussions focused on recent economic developments and implementation of the Fund-supported program approved on May 17, 2023.