Positive assessment of Ghana’s economy would be conveyed to IMF board – Mission Chief

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, has disclosed that the team would convey a positive assessment of the country’s economy to the board of the fund on the back of a buoyant economy.

The IMF and Ghana have reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms to conclude the first review of the country’s three-year programme under the Extended Credit Facility.

The meetings in Accra started from September 25 to October 6, 2023, to discuss progress on reforms and the government’s policy priorities in the context of the first review of Ghana’s three-year programme.

This agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board and receipt of necessary financing assurances.

The IMF has praised Ghana’s strong policy and reform commitment under the program, which is bearing fruit and leading to signs of economic stabilization.

After completing the Executive Board review, Ghana would have access to SDR 451.4 million (about $600 million), bringing the total IMF financial support disbursed under the arrangement since May 2023 to SDR 902.8 million (about $1.200 billion).

In a report, the IMF noted that 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.

Mr Roudet admitted that even though Ghana faces an acute economic and financial crisis, the government has adjusted macroeconomic policies and completed the domestic debt restructuring operation, the reasons for their positive assessment.

“I think what is important to keep in mind is that our assessment is very positive. And so this is what we will be conveying to our executive board when we present the report and the proposals to complete the review.”

“The assessment is that the authorities are respecting their commitments through their engagements and are also implementing several reforms. We have several structural benchmarks in the program, and the performance overall has been very strong,” Mr Roudet said in an interview on Citi TV on Monday, October 9.