The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board’s meeting schedule for the remainder of April 2023 did not include the Government of Ghana.
This comes after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta declared a March 2023 deadline for the government to present Ghana’s $3 billion bailout proposal to the IMF board.
The board will meet with five nations between April 26, 2023, and May 3, 2023, according to the IMF website’s calendar of meetings: Moldova, Central African Republic, Nepal, Eswatini, and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The IMF, however, indicated that its schedule is subject to change and “the agenda for each meeting is typically finalized the day before the meeting”.
It is uncertain whether Ghana would receive the $3 billion bailout in mid-May as some supporters of the government have suggested because Ghana was absent from the April IMF board meeting.
This is because, even if it gets Ghana’s programme in the first week of May 2023, the IMF board could take weeks to approve the country’s bailout.
When the Ghanaian government submits the programme to the Fund, it is required to evaluate whether the nation’s policies are consistent with the sustainability of its debt.
“This assessment is based on a Debt Sustainability Assessment (DSA) conducted jointly by the IMF and World Bank to determine whether the government is able to meet all its current and future payment obligations.
“It is a forward-looking exercise that needs to take into account the authorities’ policies. In the case of Ghana, the DSA document will be presented to the Board at the same time as the program request,” a statement on the IMF website read.
Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s minister of finance, has stated that the country has completed all requirements and would receive an IMF plan as a result.
“What the IMF is looking forward to before it can go to its board for Ghana’s programme approval is the assurance from the Paris Club of Bilateral Creditors that that group is committed to extending the needed financing support,” Ofori-Atta said.
View the schedule of the IMF for the rest of April 2023 and the 1st Week in May below:
