Adnan Adams Mohammed
Ghana’s economy managers are expecting the second visit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the approval of a US$3billion Extended Credit Facility in May this year.
The visit is set to take place from September Monday, 25, 2023, through the first week of October.
The purpose of the visit is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the implementation progress of Ghana’s Economic Recovery Programme. The approved programme is part of a USD3-billion three-year extended credit facility aimed at supporting Ghana’s economic recovery efforts.
“We are ready for the mission that comes at the end of September so that we can try and get the staff level agreement while the mission is here, and then we go to the board in November for the release of the 2nd tranche, which will be $600 million”, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said at the 3rd Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) CEO’s Breakfast Meeting held in Accra, last week.
“In addition to that, there are certain things we need to do with the World Bank so that we can get our DPO, which will be another $300 million. I believe that we are on course to maybe get a billion dollar to support Bank of Ghana’s balance of payment issues”, he mentioned.
The Minister emphasised that Ghana remains on course to receive the anticipated second tranche of the IMF bailout funds in December, earmarked to support the government’s balance of payments for the years 2023 and 2024.
Recent data from the Bank of Ghana, as reported in the June 2023 summary of the Economic and Financial Stability Report, indicates that the country’s balance of payments at the end of June 2023 registered a deficit of USD107.8 million, equivalent to approximately 0.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Notably, this deficit is significantly lower than the corresponding figure recorded during the same period in the previous year, demonstrating improvements in Ghana’s economic performance.
Mr Ofori-Atta expressed optimism about concluding discussions with the Paris Club and bilateral creditors by year-end.
In May 2023, Ghana received the first tranche of $600 million of a $3-billion three-year extended credit facility from the IMF, aimed at revitalising the country’s economy.
In August 2023, the IMF emphasised the importance of the Bank of Ghana maintaining its policy mandates, despite financial setbacks experienced in the preceding fiscal year.
The IMF underscored the need for the central bank to take decisive actions to steer inflation back toward its target of 8 percent.
While acknowledging the Bank of Ghana’s GHS 60 billion loss due to the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange, the IMF deemed this impairment necessary to restore macroeconomic stability and public sustainability.