The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed optimism that the Ghana government and the Official Creditor Committee would be reached soon so that the Board of the Fund can sit on Ghana’s programme.
This would unlock the $600 million bailout package which is the second tranche of the $3 billion Extended Credit Facility.
“Discussions between the Ghanaian authorities and the Official Creditor Committee are ongoing, and we certainly hope that an agreement can be reached soon so that we can rapidly bring the programme to the Board, Director of the IMF’s Communications Department, Julie Kozak said at a press conference.
She added that the government’s strong policy and reform commitments under the three-year, $3 billion program with the IMF is starting to bear fruit.
“On Ghana, the authorities’ strong policy and reform commitments under the three-year, $3 billion program with the IMF is starting to bear fruit. There are signs of economic stabilization. Growth in 2023 has proven more resilient than initially envisaged, inflation has come down, and the fiscal and external positions have improved”.
“Moreover, exchange rate volatility has declined. On October 6, 2023, our IMF team reached a staff-level agreement on the first review under the program, and once this review was completed by the Board, Ghana would have access to $600 million in financing”, she alluded.
“To ensure timely completion of the review, official creditors and the Ghanaian authorities will need to reach agreement on a debt treatment, consistent with the objectives of the programme, and in line with the financing assurances that creditors provided in May of 2023”, she added.
Ghana, IMF signed deal in December 2023 to revive ailing economy
Ghana signed a deal with the IMF in December 2022 as the country sought to shore up its public finances and better manage debt to emerge from its worst economic crisis in decades.
“The authorities have adjusted macroeconomic policies, successfully completed their domestic debt restructuring operation, and launched wide-ranging reforms,” IMF mission chief Stephane Roudet said in a statement at the end of his team’s review in Accra.
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