Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is confident that the country has a strong programme in place to put an end to repeated requests for an IMF bailout.
Mr. Ofori-Atta stated in a joint press conference with the IMF and the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 that the Post-COVID-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) of the government will significantly help to address the significant issues facing the nation’s economy.
In answer to a query from Edem Kojo of the EIB Network about whether there is any assurance that Ghana won’t apply to the Fund again, he stated, “We pray that this is going to be the last and that is why the programme is so powerful.
Mr. Ofori-Atta insisted that there is still work to be done in order for the SLA agreed with the Washington-based lender to be successful.
The staff-level agreement is contingent on receiving the required finance guarantees from Ghana’s partners and creditors as well as the Executive Board and Management approvals from the IMF.
Ghana has requested aid from the IMF 17 times total since gaining independence in 1957, with the most recent instance occuring in the last three to four years.
The most recent decision goes against the administration’s earlier position that it would avoid using the Fund as a bailout source in the future.
After six months of discussions, IMF officials and the Ghanaian government have come to a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms that would be backed by a new, three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement worth roughly US$3 billion.
By safeguarding the most vulnerable, maintaining financial stability, and building the groundwork for a robust and inclusive recovery, the government’s aggressive reform programme seeks to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.
Since the beginning of December, an IMF staff team headed by Stéphane Roudet, Ghana’s Mission Chief, has been in the nation to continue talks with the government there about the post-COVID-19 economic growth plan for the nation and any related policies and reforms that might be financed by a new IMF lending arrangement.
