All in place for Ghana to receive first tranche of IMF cash on Friday – Ofori-Atta

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, made the revelation at a joint press conference with the IMF team on Thursday, May 18.

“There is a $600 million release, and we will be working with the IMF to see if we can get it by tomorrow, and then we will move on to the next 6 months which will be another $600 million, and then we move on to about 5 different tranches every 6 months in the periods ahead,’’ Mr. Ofori-Atta said

On his part, governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Ernest Addison also opined that “just for your information, we have had swift advice, today to receive the money. Value date tomorrow [May 19] $604 million’’.

Ghana got the final approval for the IMF support on May 17, 2023. The West African country is seeking for a $3 billion Balance of Payment support to stabilize the economy.

The IMF released a 126 press statement giving more details about the deal.

This approval of the deal comes after the IMF in a statement said the government of Ghana has put in place a strategy to tighten expenditure controls and prevent arrears’ build-up.

According to the Fund, public procurement will be fully integrated with the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information (GIFMIS) to ensure that only projects that benefit from approved budgets and quarterly allotments can obtain procurement approvals to award contracts.

In a statement, the Fund said the enforcement of sanctions under the Public Financial Management Act will be strengthened, including penalties for covered entities committing spending above their allotments and allocations.