Ghana and IMF Reach Agreement on Second Loan Disbursement of $600 Million

Ghana has successfully concluded negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), resulting in the approval of a second loan disbursement of $600 million. The agreement reflects the country’s continued commitment to economic stability and fiscal reforms.

Payment of the second portion of Ghana’s loan will come after the IMF board’s final approval and bring the total disbursed since May to $1.2 billion, the IMF said.

Ghana signed a deal with the IMF in December as the country sought to shore up its public finances and better manage debt to emerge from its worst economic crisis in decades.

“The authorities have adjusted macroeconomic policies, successfully completed their domestic debt restructuring operation, and launched wide-ranging reforms,” IMF mission chief Stephane Roudet said in a statement at the end of his team’s review in Accra.

“These actions are already generating positive results.”

Ghana will have access to about $600 million in financing once the mission’s review is approved by the board, the statement said.

The country’s economic situation will be a major election campaign theme as it heads to the ballot box next year with President Nana Akufo-Addo stepping down after two terms.

Several hundred opposition protesters rallied in Ghana’s capital Accra earlier this week to denounce the economic crisis, blaming it on the central bank governor’s policies.

A major cocoa and gold producer, Ghana also has oil and gas reserves.

But its debt load has expanded and like other sub-Saharan African nations it struggled with the economic fallout from the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

 

AMN | Anochie’s Report | Accra.