Ghana should be able to get out of the current economic quagmire after its three-year extended credit facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dr. Leandro Medina, the IMF Representative in Ghana has said.
When asked specifically on Citi TV‘s The Point of View, if Ghana’s struggles with the economy will be over by the end of the IMF, programme, Dr. Medina retorted, “why not?”
“At this stage, we are really confident that, if the program is implemented as designed, it can really take the country not only out of the crisis but also provide brighter future for Ghanaians by [2027]”, he further added.
He says, the IMF is confident the program will be implemented as designed because the Ghanaian authorities have shown strong commitment.
“I can tell you that, we are quite confident about the strength of the programme and also confident that, it will be implemented as designed. This is because the actions to restore macroeconomic stability are what are needed to ensure debts are back to sustainable path, see higher inclusive growth and inflation go down. We have seen the commitment of authorities because they have taken very bold decisions.”
The IMF board on Wednesday, May 17 approved the $3 billion bailout for Ghana and released the first $600 million tranche on Friday, May 19 as the country readies to use the three-year extended credit facility to achieve macro-economic stability.
The first of the seven tranches according to government will be used for budget support and to help stabilize the cedi.
The Ghanaian economy has been faced with some critical ailing conditions for some time now including rising inflation, a depreciating currency, high budget deficit amongst others.
Ghana’s program with the IMF is based on the government’s Post COVID-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), which aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability and includes wide-ranging reforms to build resilience and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.