A mission staff from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in the country today, Wednesday June 7, 2023, to assess the implementation of Ghana’s Economic Recovery Program.
This will be the first-ever visit by the IMF after its Board approved Ghana’s bailout on May 17 as it seeks to examine progress of the agreement.
Citi Business News can authoritatively report that institutions including the Bank of Ghana, the Finance of Ministry and other relevant stakeholders will be engaged on the way forward during the one-week visit by the mission.
This assessment by the IMF Mission Staff is also to pave the grounds for the Fund to conduct a thorough review of the targets under the US$ 3 billion three-year extended credit facility later in June this year.
After the arrangement was authorized for Ghana, it enabled an immediate disbursement US$600 million with the rest expected to be disbursed in tranches every six months, after programme evaluations agreed by the IMF Executive Board.
The IMF Mission Staff will return next week after a conclusion of its monitoring.
Government has already stated that it is certain of meeting the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements for fiscal consolidation in its quest to ensure economic recovery.
The IMF, in its report on Ghana’s request for a $3 billion-dollar extended credit facility, attributed Ghana’s economic challenges to weak domestic revenue mobilization efforts.
The deal came at a time when Ghana is facing a number of economic challenges, including high inflation, a depreciating currency, and a widening budget deficit amid a worsening debt stock.
The IMF deal is expected to help Ghana to stabilize its economy and restore confidence in the Ghanaian financial system.
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.