Ghana is poised to obtain board approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the third installment of $360 million from its extended credit facility worth $3 billion.
The government’s ongoing assistance program, designed to stabilize the economy and promote sustainable growth, is reportedly yielding results surpassing initial expectations.
To date, Ghana has received $1.2 billion in IMF funding, earmarked for fiscal consolidation, bolstering foreign exchange reserves, and facilitating overall economic recovery.
According to the IMF, Ghana is approaching the approval phase for the subsequent disbursement, having consistently met the requisite economic and policy benchmarks.
Julie Kozack, IMF’s Director of Communications, expressed confidence in Ghana’s progress and emphasized the IMF’s support during a recent press briefing in Washington, D.C.
“On April 13th, IMF staff and the Ghanaian authorities reached a staff-level agreement for the second review of the programme. The aim is to bring the review to the IMF’s Executive Board before the end of June, and once approved by the Board, the review would give Ghana access to about $360 million.
The authorities’ strong policy and reform efforts under the programme are bearing fruit, and signs of economic stabilization are emerging.”
Ghana is expected to get approval for its third tranche of $360m when the Executive Board of the IMF meet in June, having reached a staff-level agreement on the second review of the loan-support programme.
The Fund has stated that the fund will not require the Ghanaian government to implement additional adjustments.
The government has expressed optimism that ongoing discussions among official creditors will facilitate the conclusion of talks, enabling the release of the third tranche of funds.
“Growth, for example, in 2023, was higher than anticipated, and the growth projections are being revised upward.
Inflation has been declining rapidly, the fiscal and external positions have improved, and exchange rate volatility has declined quite significantly. The authorities are making good progress on their comprehensive debt restructuring.
The domestic debt exchange was completed last year, and on January 12th, the government reached agreement in principle with its official bilateral creditors.
Ghana is also engaging with external private creditors to seek their support”, Julie Kozack added.