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Coronavirus: Spend IMF’s $1 billion loan diligently – Mahama tells Gov’t

John Mahama has urged government to be diligent in spending the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $1 billion loan facility granted to Ghana to aid in its fight against COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Spend IMF’s $1 billion loan diligently – Mahama tells Gov’t

According to him, the IMF’s facility is timely and will help cushion the country’s economy from the dangers of recession.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer said this during a Facebook live stream to announce his latest donations to some households.

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“The fast track approval by the IMF of the highly concessional Rapid Credit Facility is therefore timely and very welcome. This will help cushion the economy from the dangers of recession,” Mahama said.

“Our economy has revealed from this COVID-19 stress test that it is still fragile and we need to be prudent in how we manage going forward. We must also be diligent in how we apply the US$1 billion facility as the various tranches are released.”

The loan is to be drawn from the IMF's Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), a product of the Bretton Woods institution that provides concessionary financial assistance with limited conditionalities to low-income countries (LICs).

In a statement on Monday, the IMF said the money is aimed at helping address Ghana’s “fiscal and balance of payments needs” following the Coronavirus outbreak.

It added that the IMF would continue to monitor Ghana’s situation closely and was also ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed.

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Meanwhile, Ghana’s total Coronavirus case count has sharply risen to 636, as of April 14, 2020.

The country has, however, recorded 17 recoveries and eight deaths so far, the Ghana Health Service announced.

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