We have met all requirements for IMF approval of third tranche – Finance Minister
The Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, says Ghana has satisfied all conditions for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approval of the third tranche of funding support of $360 million after its review.
He expressed optimism after the government made a significant milestone in its debt restructuring journey with bilateral creditors.
The government has reached an agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Official Creditor Committee.
The agreement on the MoU will allow the IMF to review Ghana’s performance under a three-year economic support programme.
He made the statements at a press briefing in Accra on June 12, 2024.
He stressed that the government does not foresee any challenges in the coming days.
“We are very confident they will approve our second review because we have met all the requirements. The last hurdle was the agreement. We needed to meet with the bilateral creditors, which we have now met. We do not anticipate any challenges,” he stated.
Ghana’s second review programme for a third tranche funding of US$360 million is expected to go before the Executive Board of the IMF by the end of June 2024.
This is to see to the approval and disbursement of additional funds under the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the IMF for economic recovery and stability.
Early this month, Ghana reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms for the second review of the programme.
He announced that the agreement reschedules debt payments due between 2023 and 2026, allowing the government to redirect funds previously earmarked for debt servicing towards essential public services.
“The MoU will provide significant flow relief to the Republic of Ghana. And what this means is that debt service that was due between 2023 and 2026 are being rescheduled. It means that we will not have to pay, we will not have to service our debts due between 2023 and 2026,” Dr. Adam stated.
The freed-up funds will support critical infrastructure projects, including healthcare, education, road construction, and social interventions aimed at aiding vulnerable segments of society.
Dr. Adam highlighted the transformative impact of this relief, explaining, “The money we would have used to service the debts, to pay to our official creditors as a result of the facilities they advanced to us, will now be available to the government, for the government to spend on critical infrastructure.”