Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board is set to meet on December 2, 2024, to assess Ghana’s Third Programme Review.
A successful review could see the release of $360 million to the Bank of Ghana, aiding the Government’s budget and balance of payment needs.
This upcoming board discussion follows a staff-level agreement reached with the Ghanaian government earlier this month after an IMF team visited to evaluate data up to June 2024. “This disbursement by the IMF Board will bring the total funds received since Ghana signed up for the IMF programme to $1.92 billion,” Dr. Amin Adam stated at a press briefing in Washington, DC, during the Annual IMF/World Bank Meetings.
The Finance Minister confirmed that Ghana has met all the necessary criteria for approvals and disbursements under the IMF programme.
Dr. Amin Adam expressed optimism regarding the $360 million from the IMF and an additional $300 million anticipated from the World Bank, highlighting that these funds would boost Ghana’s reserves and contribute to the stability of the Ghanaian cedi in the coming year. “We must remember that the Bank of Ghana already has strong reserves, and these additional inflows will put the Central Bank in a solid position to stabilize the Ghana cedi,” he remarked.
He reassured the business community, “There is no need for businesses to panic regarding the availability of foreign exchange to meet their demands.” For Dr. Amin Adam, the importance of the IMF funds lies not just in the financial support but in the positive signal it sends to investors, reflecting the government’s efforts to stabilize the economy.
Investor sentiment was a key topic during the Annual IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington, DC, with Dr. Amin Adam noting a favorable response to Ghana’s economic reforms. “Some investors are considering re-entering the domestic bond market, but we are still reviewing those requests,” he revealed.
Responding to concerns about economic management, the Finance Minister highlighted Ghana’s progress: “Ghana’s economy has strongly recovered compared to two years ago. We’ve seen tremendous progress in growth, exchange rate stability, and inflation,” he asserted. He emphasized, “We have performed exceptionally well in managing the economy.”
The IMF recently adjusted its 2024 growth projection for Ghana from 3 percent to 4 percent, a move welcomed by Dr. Amin Adam. “We appreciate the IMF’s explanation that their latest World Economic Outlook was based on data as of mid-April 2024, and they expect improvements by the end of the year,” he noted.
Confident in the country’s trajectory, Dr. Amin Adam added, “We believe Ghana will outperform the revised 4 percent target based on recent investments that are starting to yield results.” Nonetheless, the government plans to maintain the initial 3 percent growth projection in the upcoming 2024 Budget.