The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised the recovery of Ghana’s economy, asserting that macroeconomic policies and wide-ranging reformed programmes are already yielding positive results.
Stéphane Roudet, the IMF mission chief, indicated in a statement that growth in 2023 has shown to be more resilient than anticipated, with inflation declining, fiscal and external positions improving, and the exchange rate stabilising.
He made the remarks after leading the IMF team to a conclusion yesterday on Ghana’s first assessment and staff-level agreement for an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
The team met in Accra from September 25 to October 6, 2023, to discuss reform progress and the government’s policy priorities in the context of the first review of Ghana’s three-year Extended Credit Facility agreement.
The IMF delegation met with Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ofori-Atta, and Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison, as well as their staff and representatives from other government agencies.
According to Roudet, fiscal performance has been solid, in line with the authorities’ promises under the Fund-supported programme, and “Ghana is on track to lower the fiscal primary deficit on a commitment basis by about four percentage points of GDP in 2023.”
“Spending has remained within programme limits,” he added, and continued, “To help mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable population, the authorities have significantly expanded social protection programmes.”
The IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, has expressed optimism about Ghana’s economic progress, noting that there has been a significant improvement in the country’s position over the past month.
“Ghana is actually doing quite well. You have seen that their position has improved over the last month; the economy is in a much better place,” she said.
“I would very much hope that we can have the disbursement, $600 million tranche of IMF money that’s due to be disbursed in November,” she intimated.
“That is part of the confidence building that we are projecting,” the IMF boss said in her remarks on addressing unsustainable debt crises.
Despite criticism over the G20 Common Framework’s alleged slowness in granting applicants relief from their debt, she defended it.
