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IMF extension could delay fund disbursement - Economist
An economist Dr Osei Assibey explained that the IMF will only be willing to extend the deal if Ghana shows that it will be able to meet targets that they will set for the country.
This is according to an economist Dr Eric Osei Assibey. His reaction follows Ghana’s intention to seek an extension of the IMF programme.
Dr Osei Assibey explained that the IMF will only be willing to extend the deal if Ghana shows that it will be able to meet targets that they will set for the country.
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“I am not too sure whether that may also affect the releases because then obviously the Fund may also want to set certain key benchmarks for the government to meet before the releases are done. It could also have some implications on the timetable that has been set for the tranches to be released.”
“If the government succeeds in extending the time, then it may have equally succeeded in reviewing the program,” he added.
The Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei revealed recently that government is considering a possible extension of the country’s programme with the IMF.
“Originally the programme was expected to end on April 2018 but I know they are discussing extending it to December 2018 that may be coming at the request of the government, not the IMF. They can’t do that. The time is too short for now. So the government thought that it may be useful to end in December rather than in April.”
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“That is a proposal until the mission that came to do the assessment come back to government. Once they discuss it then there will be another meeting to formally make the request. The government has discussed that possibility with the IMF but nothing has been signed yet,” he added.
In a related development, urged the NPP government to among other things seek a rebate in some targets including the financing of government deficit and single digit inflation targets.
“For the zero percent financing of the budget deficit by the Bank of Ghana, I think that is a bit too strict…The law that was passed actually puts it at five percent; I think that is quite optimal for a developing country like ours,” he advised.
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