The International Monetary Fund has approved an immediate $367 million disbursement for Ghana following completion of its fourth review under the $3 billion Extended Credit Facility.
This brings total IMF support disbursed to approximately $2.3 billion.
The decision confirms Ghana continues to meet key benchmarks under the program initiated in 2023, despite significant economic headwinds encountered late last year.
According to the IMF’s published review findings, Ghana’s economic performance deteriorated in the latter part of 2024. This setback stemmed primarily from election-related fiscal slippages, delays in implementing planned structural reforms, and inflation exceeding program targets. These challenges emerged even as overall growth for 2024 and early 2025 surpassed expectations, driven by robust activity in mining, agriculture, ICT services, manufacturing, and construction.
Significantly, Ghana’s external sector showed marked improvement. Strong gold exports and higher-than-anticipated remittances boosted international reserves, surpassing the levels targeted within the IMF program framework. This resilience provided crucial breathing room amid global uncertainties and domestic fiscal pressures observed during the election period. The new Mahama administration now faces the task of correcting these fiscal deviations.
To address the 2024 slippages, the government aims to achieve a primary fiscal surplus of 1.5% of GDP in 2025. Officials emphasize stronger budget discipline as foundational to this goal. Key measures outlined include necessary adjustments to electricity tariffs, enhanced revenue collection efforts, and targeted spending cuts designed explicitly to protect vulnerable populations from undue hardship.
Concurrently, the Bank of Ghana has moved to tighten monetary policy to combat inflation and preserve exchange rate stability. The central bank has also focused on rebuilding its own reserve buffers and strengthening oversight of weaker banking institutions to safeguard overall financial stability. These actions align with the broader program objectives endorsed by the IMF Executive Board.
Further structural reforms target persistent inefficiencies in major state-owned enterprises, particularly within the energy and cocoa sectors. Containing fiscal risks posed by these entities remains a critical priority under the program. On the debt front, Ghana has signed a crucial Memorandum of Understanding with its official bilateral creditors and reports progress in ongoing, complex negotiations with commercial bondholders to restructure its external debt obligations.
Reflecting confidence in Ghana’s reform trajectory and fiscal consolidation efforts, major international credit rating agencies have recently upgraded the country’s sovereign ratings. Sustaining these reforms, especially in public financial management and governance of state-owned enterprises, is widely viewed as essential to breaking past cycles of economic fragility and building lasting resilience as the program continues.
