The World Bank has assured that the Bretton Woods institutions will continue to collaborate to assist developing countries like Ghana.
A Senior Economist at the World Bank Group, David Elmaleh, projected an economic recovery for Ghana in the near future due to the support provided by the World Bank.
“The reforms that we’ve supported will help to further advance the country and could attract the support of others. I think that the World Bank as an institution is aware that this crisis has been very difficult for Ghanaians. We are doing everything we can jointly with partners to help get out of this crisis,” he said.
The World Bank is of the firm assertion that its recent disbursements to Ghana will catalyze additional donor funding and private capital investment for the country.
Since January, the Bank has disbursed over $800 million to the Ghanaian government, with more expected before the end of the year.
David Elmaleh is optimistic that the approval of these funds would encourage other donor partners to join in supporting Ghana’s economic recovery programme.
“The fact that the World Bank approves this operation is in fact a recognition of the reform programmes enacted by the government and the fact that it’s starting to bear fruits”, he said.
The World Bank in January this year approved a $300 million Development Policy Operation for Ghana.
The First Resilient Recovery Development Policy Financing is a critical contribution by the Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) to help Ghana’s economic recovery and support the country’s resilient and inclusive growth.
The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.
Economic crisis
Ghana is in debt distress and public debt is unsustainable. In response, the government has embarked on a comprehensive debt restructuring, a significant fiscal consolidation program, and the implementation of reforms to foster economic stability and resilience.
The authorities’ stabilization efforts are being supported by an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program of the IMF for approximately $3 billion.
The crisis has taken a toll on the pace of economic growth – which decelerated to an estimated 2.9% in 2023 and is projected to remain weak in 2024.
Over the first months of 2024, the deceleration of inflation has stalled due to pass-through of the depreciation on prices of imported goods, on non-food inflation while food inflation marginally fell.