Ghana is expected to receive an additional $360 million from the IMF, with the Bank’s Executive Board set to review and approve the country’s third programme review on December 2, 2024.
The IMF Executive Board’s calendar indicates a meeting in December to review Ghana’s third assessment under its US$3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack confirmed to the Ghana News Agency that staff are preparing for the meeting.
Since the ECF arrangement began, Ghana has consistently met the required indicators, leading to the approval of all previous reviews.
“Once the review is approved by the IMFs Executive Board, Ghana would have access to about US$360 million in terms of disbursement,” Ms Kozack, said during a press briefing.
This follows the staff-level agreement reached between Ghana and the IMF Mission team in October 2024, where it was acknowledged that Ghana’s performance under the ECF program has been deemed “satisfactory.”
Approval of the third review will trigger a disbursement of US$360 million, raising the total disbursements since May 2023 to Special Drawing Righs (SDR) 1,441 million (approximately US$1.92 billion).
Commenting on the country’s execution of the ongoing loan-supported agreement, Ms. Kozack stated, “The programme performance has been good. There has been remarkable progress on debt restructuring.”
She said that economic growth in the first half of 2024 surpassed expectations, inflation had decreased, fiscal improvements were seen, and the country’s external positions had strengthened, all of which reflected the country’s positive performance.
“Looking ahead, what will be important for Ghana will be continued implementation of the policy and reform agendas, especially given the difficult situation that many countries in the region and globally face,” she said.
Ms. Kozack emphasized that continuing these efforts would be crucial for fully restoring macroeconomic stability and ensuring debt sustainability, which are the primary goals of the three-year programme.
“We will, of course, have further updates on Ghana when we release the staff report after the board meeting takes place,” she said.
GNA