The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downplayed speculations that Ghana is poised to restructure its debt as part of plans to secure a $3 billion balance of payment support from the Fund.
Any restructuring of Ghana’s debt, according to the IMF, will be dependent on the outcome of its Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) Report.
IMF Director of Communications, Gerry Rice, who stated this at a News Conference in Washington DC, explained that the DSA report will indicate if there is the need for debt restructuring in the first place.
He said if necessary, the report will indicate how the restructuring should be carried out as well as the areas that would be affected.
“When a country requests financing from the IMF, we assess whether the country’s policies are consistent with debt sustainability as one of our requirements. We still need to conduct a thorough update of the debt situation in Ghana through our Debt Sustainability Analysis.
“The last, I don’t know if it’s useful, I have here the last DSA, Debt Sustainability Analysis. We published this as part of the 2021 Article IV Staff Report with Ghana. It said public debt was a sustainable conditional on a rigorous and credible implementation of the authority’s medium term consolidation plan to put debt on a declining trajectory and ensure continued market access,” Mr. Rice stressed.
This, he underscored, will inform the next line of action as government, reiterating the Fund’s commitment to ensuring no harm is done to the interest of stakeholders as a result of this programme.
Meanwhile, the IMF team is in Ghana to continue official negotiations with government for the balance of payment support.
The Ministry of finance and the Bank of Ghana have commenced discussions with the Bretton Woods Institution for a programme as already announced.
A key pre-requisite for the programme, according to industry players, is confirmation that Ghana’s debt is on a sustainable path and this will require a comprehensive Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), which is currently ongoing.
A statement from the Finance Ministry said the Government was putting together a comprehensive post-Covid-19 economic programme, which will form the basis for the IMF negotiations.
The programme seeks to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability underpinned by key structural reforms and social protection.
As government negotiations with respect to the IMF-supported programme commenced this week, the MoF has expressed optimism about making progress in the discussions.
The government said it remains committed and shall continue to actively engage all stakeholders, both public and private, in a clear and transparent manner as it seeks to fast-track this process.
