Ghana is preparing to adopt a 36-month non-financing Policy Co-ordination Instrument (PCI) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), marking a decisive pivot away from reliance on external bailout financing toward greater domestic policy ownership following the conclusion of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme.
Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Johnson P. Asiama disclosed the plan at the opening of the 130th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Accra, describing the arrangement as a step to preserve investor confidence while reducing the country’s dependence on direct IMF funding. He explained that unlike conventional IMF support programmes, the PCI is a non-financing instrument designed for countries that no longer require Fund resources but still value the signalling benefits, policy credibility and technical support that formal IMF engagement provides.
The 36-month programme will be structured around six pillars: sustaining growth-friendly fiscal adjustment, safeguarding debt sustainability, strengthening fiscal transparency and governance, enhancing monetary and exchange-rate policy frameworks, reinforcing financial sector stability, and supporting economic diversification and inclusive growth.
An IMF staff mission that visited Accra from April 29 to May 15, 2026, completed both the sixth and final review of Ghana’s ECF programme and an Article IV Consultation, while also holding discussions on the proposed PCI. The Fund acknowledged that the ECF had delivered substantial stabilisation gains, including sharply lower inflation, improved external buffers, stronger confidence in the cedi and meaningful progress on debt sustainability.
Under the PCI framework, the BoG has committed to improving monetary policy transmission, enhancing liquidity forecasting and maintaining discipline around its inflation-targeting framework. The programme will also focus on rebuilding the central bank’s balance sheet by limiting quasi-fiscal activities and improving oversight of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).
Despite a relatively resilient domestic recovery, with Ghana’s first-quarter 2026 current account surplus exceeding the comparable 2025 figure by approximately US$652 million, Asiama flagged the escalating Middle East conflict as the dominant external risk. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up global energy prices and the IMF has revised its 2026 global growth forecast downward to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent. For Ghana, a commodity exporter that imports significant quantities of fuel, the spillover effects are considerable, running through higher transportation costs, rising import bills and consumer price pressures.
Government also announced plans to raise US$1 billion through local currency bonds to finance cocoa purchases for the 2026/27 crop season, reducing dependence on dollar funding, alongside temporary reductions in regulatory margins on petroleum products to ease pressure on consumers.
“These risks will be central to the discussions this week,” Asiama said, as the MPC opened three days of deliberations on sustaining economic gains while navigating a complex mix of global and domestic pressures.
