IMF pleased with Ghana’s economic reform program so far

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff review team on Friday expressed satisfaction with Ghana’s performance under an economic reform program requested by the IMF for a bailout package of 3 billion U.S. dollars to boost the country’s economy.

In a press release at the end of the first review of the program since its implementation in May, the IMF said the performance concerning the program’s targets and reform objectives has been very strong.

The positive review paved the way for Ghana to access an additional 600 million U.S. dollars from the 3 billion dollars once the management and executive board of the IMF formally approve of the review.

“The authorities’ strong policy and reform commitment under the program is bearing fruit, and signs of economic stabilization are emerging. Growth in 2023 has proven more resilient than initially envisaged, inflation has declined, the fiscal and external positions have improved, and the exchange rate has stabilized,” the IMF observed.

The team said these initial successes were due to the bold decisions by the debt-laden West African country to adjust macroeconomic policies, complete its domestic debt restructuring operation, and launch wide-ranging reforms.

To ensure timely completion of the review, the IMF review team said the country would need its official creditors to quickly reach an agreement on debt restructuring in line with their financing assurances to Ghana.

Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta expressed optimism at a joint press briefing with the IMF staff that Ghana was on the right path despite the uncertainties in the global economy, adding the country would leverage the momentum that the first successful review of the IMF program generated.

Over recent years, Ghana has been battling a severe economic meltdown with high inflation, a volatile exchange rate regime, and debt overhang.