Ghanatodayonline.com News, Politics, Health, Education & More
Ghana is expected to receive the third tranche of $360 million by the end of this month, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the nation tries to control its declining cedi, which has been unable to withstand the strengthening of the US dollar.
The IMF stated in its most recent press conference on June 6 that it hopes to help Ghana obtain board clearance for the $360 million release by the end of this month. Julie Kozack, the Fund’s Director of Communications, made this announcement.
“Our aim is to bring the review to the IMF’s Executive Board for approval before the end of June. This would give Ghana access to $360 million in financing, bringing the total to about $1.6 billion in disbursements since May of 2023,” she indicated.
“Strong policy and reform efforts under the three-year programme are bearing fruit and signs of economic stabilisation are emerging,” the Fund reports of Ghana’s achievements. For example, growth in 2023 exceeded our early projections.”
The authorities are making considerable progress toward their complete debt restructuring, according to the IMF as well. “The exchange of domestic debt completed last year, and in January 2024 the government and its official bilateral creditors came to a basic understanding. The Fund emphasized that Ghana is also reaching out to its external private creditors to ask for their assistance.
Ghana is currently dollar-hungry! The nation is still waiting to meet all the requirements to unlock the third tranche of its IMF loan, despite having reached an IMF Staff-Level Agreement nearly two months ago. However, those familiar with the details of the debt rework talks claim that bilateral negotiations and agreements are getting closer to their conclusion.
Consequently, the continued tightening of US monetary policy and Ghana’s mounting import bill have put tremendous pressure on the cedi, which has lost over 20% of its value compared to the US dollar since the year’s beginning.
Looking ahead, the IMF believes “steadfast policy and reform implementation will be crucial to fully and durably restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability in Ghana” and that the “government has committed to continue implementing the programme as envisaged to ensure sustainable growth and support poverty reduction.”
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
