The International Monetary Fund flagged three critical challenges confronting Ghana’s three billion dollar programme implementation despite describing overall performance as broadly satisfactory after approving 385 million dollars in immediate disbursement Wednesday.
The Fund said the key challenges relate to operationalizing the Integrated Tax Administration System, reforming earmarked funds, and delays associated with updating the beneficiary registry for the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme and reforming the asset declaration regime. An IMF spokesperson disclosed this following the Executive Board’s completion of the fifth review under the Extended Credit Facility arrangement, bringing total disbursements to approximately 2.8 billion dollars since the programme’s May 2023 approval.
Ghana’s 39 month ECF programme aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while implementing reforms to strengthen resilience and lay foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth. The completion represents a milestone in Ghana’s economic recovery efforts after external shocks worsened fiscal and debt vulnerabilities, leading to loss of access to international capital markets and constrained domestic financing.
The IMF spokesperson stated that out of 11 structural benchmarks for the current review, four were met, two were implemented with delays, one was completed as a prior action, and four were missed. The Fund noted that Ghana met all end June 2025 performance criteria, citing the audit of 2024 payables, taxpayer data cleaning, and submission of the 2026 Budget in line with programme objectives as key reforms achieved under the fifth review.
The ITAS implementation has been rephased into three stages due to technical and operational challenges, while authorities opted for an alternative approach to reforming earmarked funds. The integrated system, awarded to Indian firm Tata Consultancy Services through a controversial procurement process, aims to improve tax compliance, expand the tax base, reduce revenue leakages and enhance revenue from the digital economy. Parliament approved a 10.46 million dollar tax waiver for Tata in November 2025 to facilitate implementation, though the contract faced criticism over procedural irregularities and concerns about data security.
The Ghana Revenue Authority signed the ITAS agreement with Tata in May 2024 after the IMF made the system a key structural benchmark under the ECF programme. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson later revealed that the previous administration committed Ghana to a binding contract without constitutionally required parliamentary approval, necessitating government intervention to renegotiate terms and save approximately 10 million dollars. The IMF has since upgraded ITAS implementation to a prior action necessary for programme reviews, reflecting its importance to revenue mobilization objectives.
The LEAP beneficiary registry update faces delays as the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection works with the Ghana National Household Registry to verify and validate beneficiary data for improved targeting. The ministry initiated a comprehensive reassessment of all beneficiary households to evaluate continued eligibility and make room for new vulnerable households, though the process has experienced setbacks. The 2022 Auditor General report indicated that failure to conduct timely reassessments resulted in improper payments totaling 396,620 cedis to beneficiaries who no longer qualified for the programme.
Civil society organizations including SEND Ghana have urged government to establish clear deadlines for completing LEAP reassessments to prevent wasteful expenditures, improve programme coverage and ensure sustainability. The GNHR is expected to complete ongoing household registration soon, with results assisting in better targeting of households to be included in the cash transfer programme that currently serves 350,580 households covering approximately 1.56 million individuals nationwide.
The IMF attributed challenges facing the three complex structural reforms to legal, technical and institutional constraints, underscoring the need for continued reforms to safeguard macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while addressing longstanding structural vulnerabilities. Deputy Managing Director Bo Li commended Ghanaian authorities for demonstrating strong programme ownership, particularly through decisive corrective actions taken after policy slippages in 2024.
Li said the reforms, together with structural measures, supported a stronger than expected recovery in economic growth, brought inflation within the Bank of Ghana’s target range, and boosted foreign reserve accumulation. He stressed that sustaining fiscal discipline would require stronger revenue administration, improved public financial management, and enhanced oversight of State Owned Enterprises, which continue to pose significant fiscal risks.
The deputy managing director called for sustained efforts to improve transparency and oversight, especially regarding public disclosure requirements and management of SOEs in the gold, cocoa and energy sectors. He stated that ambitious structural reforms aimed at improving the business environment, strengthening governance and enhancing transparency remain critical to boosting Ghana’s economic potential and supporting sustainable job creation.
The IMF noted that Ghana’s reforms were yielding results, with economic growth exceeding expectations through September 2025, driven largely by strong performance in the services and agriculture sectors. Inflation is now within the Bank of Ghana’s target range, the external sector strengthened on robust gold and cocoa exports, reserves accumulation surpassed ECF targets, the cedi appreciated markedly, and Ghana’s debt trajectory improved significantly.
The 2026 budget, submitted to Parliament, aligns with fiscal programme objectives and the new Fiscal Responsibility Framework while accommodating developmental and security needs. The budget targets a 1.5 percent of GDP primary surplus on a commitment basis, driven by revenue mobilization and expenditure rationalization with safeguards for vulnerable groups. The primary balance for the first eight months of 2025 posted a surplus of 1.1 percent of GDP, on track to achieve the 1.5 percent year end target.
With inflation pressures subsiding and recent cedi appreciation, the Bank of Ghana appropriately began a cautious monetary easing cycle. The IMF stated that any further easing should remain gradual and data dependent. The central bank developed and implemented a new structured foreign exchange operations framework to intermediate FX flows and smooth excessive market volatility while accumulating international reserves, in collaboration with Fund staff.
Authorities took decisive steps to safeguard financial stability, including implementing the strategy to restructure and reform state owned banks, closing gaps in the crisis management and resolution framework, and pursuing a multi pronged approach to reduce non performing loans. The recapitalization of state owned banks was completed by end 2025, while the central bank successfully brought inflation within its target range and rebuilt international reserve buffers.
The comprehensive debt restructuring is progressing well. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Official Creditor Committee under the G20 Common Framework, bilateral agreements have been concluded with five countries. The IMF indicated that looking ahead, strengthening central bank independence, discontinuing quasi fiscal activities, and deepening FX markets while reducing the Bank of Ghana’s footprint remain priorities.
The Fund emphasized that steadfast implementation of the policy and reform agenda remains essential to fully restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. These gains reflect the authorities’ strong programme ownership, favorable external developments, and improved investor confidence. Ghana is projected to achieve 4.8 percent growth in 2026 with inflation stabilizing within the Bank of Ghana’s target range of eight percent plus or minus two percentage points.
