The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana’s government for the fourth review of the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program.
This paves the way for a $370 million disbursement once the IMF Executive Board grants final approval.
The agreement follows a two-week IMF mission to Accra led by Mission Chief Stéphane Roudet. Ghana’s economy showed resilience despite policy slippages before the 2024 general elections.
Key highlights include Stronger-than-Anticipated Growth and Ghana recorded robust growth in 2024, driven by the mining and construction sectors.
Strong gold exports, increased remittances, and better-than-expected foreign reserves buildup contributed to the positive trend.
Fiscal slippages, inflationary pressures, and delays in key reforms across fiscal, financial, and energy sectors hindered program performance.
Ghana’s new leadership has taken bold measures to get the program back on track with 2025 Budget targeting a primary surplus of 1.5% of GDP, up from a deficit of over 3% last year.
Public Financial Management Reforms Enacted to curb expenditure overruns and strengthen oversight and transparency Monetary Policy the Bank of Ghana has raised its policy rate to curb inflation.
Progress in Key Sectors including Energy Sector, Quarterly electricity tariff adjustments and wider reforms aim to ease the sector’s fiscal burden and halt new arrears accumulation.
Whiles State-Owned Enterprises Efforts to improve governance and efficiency in the cocoa, gold, and energy sectors are ongoing and Debt Restructuring, Ghana remains committed to restoring debt sustainability, with a signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Official Creditors Committee under the G20 Common Framework.
The IMF team, led by Mr. Roudet, held discussions with Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, and other senior officials, commending Ghana’s continued open and constructive engagement.
