Ghana will get $191 million from IMF this May

The Ghanaian government will get $191 million from the International Monetary Fund under the Extended Credit Facility arrangement.

The Ghanaian government will get $191 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.

The fund is expected to be disbursed to the Ghanaian government following the completion of the fifth and sixth reviews of Ghana’s economic performance under the programme recently, bringing total disbursements to $764.1 million.

The three-year arrangement was approved in 2015 for about $955.2 million or 180 percent of quota at the time of approval of the arrangement.

Expectations from IMF

The IMF three-year arrangement with the IMF is aimed at restoring debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability in the country to foster a return to high growth and job creation while protecting social spending.

Tao Zhang, acting Chair and Deputy Managing Director, said: “Implementation of the ECF-supported programme has significantly improved in 2017. Growth has rebounded, the fiscal deficit has declined, leading to a primary surplus for the first time in fifteen years, the external position has strengthened, generating a build-up of external buffers, and key steps have been taken to address fragilities in the financial sector. Reforms should continue to entrench these hard-won gains.”

Zhang added that government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and the expenditure restraint shown in 2017 to meet the end-year deficit target were commendable.

The IMF revealed that as the debt burden remained elevated, continued prudence in debt management is essential to reduce the risks associated with market-based borrowing.

It recommended liability management operations with part of the proceeds from the planned Eurobond to help mitigate foreign-exchange roll-over risk and smooth the debt maturity profile.