- According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana’s strong commitment to reforming its policies and economy as part of the Fund’s program is paying off and showing signs of stabilization.
- The IMF claims that the country’s economy in 2023 will be more resilient than initially expected, that inflation would be lower than expected, that the fiscal and external positions will be better, and that the currency rate will stabilize.
- On Friday, October 6, an IMF staff team led by Stéphane Roudet, mission chief for Ghana, completed Ghana’s initial assessment and came to an agreement at the staff level on the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
- From September 25 to October 6, 2023, the team met in Accra to evaluate the state of reforms and the priorities of the government in light of the first evaluation of Ghana’s three-year program under the Extended Credit Facility.
- Stéphane Roudet, head of the IMF mission in Ghana, issued a statement that read, “Faced with an acute economic and financial crisis, the authorities have altered macroeconomic policies, effectively concluded their domestic debt restructuring operation, and began broad reforms. As growth in 2023 has proven to be more resilient than initially anticipated, inflation has decreased, the fiscal and external positions have improved, and the currency rate has stabilized, these steps are already producing beneficial consequences.
- He said, “Consistent with the authorities’ commitments under the Fund-supported programme, fiscal performance has been strong, and 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 program limits.”
- Roudet added, “To help mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable population, the authorities have significantly expanded social protection programs. On the revenue side, Ghana has met its non-oil revenue mobilization target. Ambitious structural fiscal reforms are bolstering domestic revenues, improving spending efficiency, strengthening public financial and debt management, and enhancing transparency.”
- “In light of Ghana’s compelling performance under the Fund-supported program, the critical next step is to secure an agreement with official creditors on the terms of a debt treatment consistent with the IMF Executive Board-approved program parameters and debt targets. We urge official creditors to move forward and agree on an appropriate debt treatment in line with the financing assurances they provided in May 2023,” the IMF head of mission said.
