The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the recovery of Ghana’s economy with a strong approval that macroeconomic policies and wide-ranging reformed programmes are already yielding positive results.
In a statement, the IMF mission chief to Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, indicated that growth in 2023 has shown to be more resilient than anticipated, with inflation declining, fiscal and external positions improving, and the exchange rate stabilising.
Roudet made the remarks on Friday after leading the IMF team to Ghana on the country’s first assessment and reaching staff-level agreement for Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, which is already on course.
According to him, fiscal performance has been solid, in line with the authorities’ promises under the Fund-supported programme.
“Ghana is on track to lower the fiscal primary deficit on a commitment basis by about four percentage points of GDP in 2023.
“Spending has remained within programme limits,” he added.
Roudet also praised managers of the Ghanaian economy for ably supporting the vulnerable in society.
“To help mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable population, the authorities have significantly expanded social protection programmes,” Roudet added.
The IMF team met in Accra from September 25 to October 6, 2023, and discussed reform progress and the government’s policy priorities in the context of the first review of Ghana’s three-year Extended
Credit Facility agreement.
Ghana is seeking $3 billion from the IMF as balance of payment support to help rebound the economy following the devastation of global economies by COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The country has already received $600 million out of the amount and it’s expected to receive an additional $600 million, hopefully by the end of November this year.
External creditors
The IMF has urged external creditors to move forward and agree on an appropriate debt treatment for Ghana in line with the financing assurances they provided in May 2023.
This, it noted, is a critical next step to ensure that Ghana can continue to make progress on its economic reform programme.
“Ghana will have access to about US$600 million in financing once the review is approved by IMF Management and formally completed by the IMF Executive Board. To ensure the timely completion of the review, the country needs official creditors to quickly reach an agreement on a debt treatment in line with the financing assurances they provided in May 2023.
“The authorities’ strong policy and reform commitment under the program is bearing fruit, and signs of economic stabilization are emerging. Growth in 2023 has proven more resilient than initially envisaged, inflation has declined, the fiscal and external positions have improved, and the exchange rate has stabilized.”
The IMF delegation met with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, and Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison, as well as their staff and representatives from other government agencies.
IMF Boss praises Ghana
The IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, has expressed optimism about Ghana’s economic progress, noting that there has been a significant improvement in the country’s position over the past month.
“Ghana is actually doing quite well. You have seen that their position has improved over the last month; the economy is in a much better place.
“I would very much hope that we can have the disbursement, $600 million tranche of IMF money that’s due to be disbursed in November.
“That is part of the confidence building that we are projecting,” the IMF boss said in her remarks on addressing unsustainable debt crises.
She dismissed criticism over the G20 Common Framework’s alleged slowness in granting applicants relief from their debt, insisting the Fund is on track.
