Ghana-IMF $3bn deal to be finalised before end of year – IMF boss

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has stated that a deal between Ghana and the IMF should be reached and finalized before the end of the year.

In a closed-door meeting with the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Monday, 5th September 2022, on the sidelines of the Africa Adaptation Summit, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the IMF boss told President Akufo-Addo THAT “we understand the urgency, and we will move as quickly as possible.”

Describing Ghana as a “superb country”, she reiterated the determination of the Fund to work with Government and the Ministry of Finance, to ensure that an agreement is in place before the end of the year.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo indicated to the IMF boss that a lot of work has been done by Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance, and the document to be presented by the Ghana side “is ready for the scrutiny of the IMF.”

Meanwhile, Kristalina Georgieva has emphasized that Ghana’s current economic challenges are not locally generated but from external shocks.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Fund’s engagements with the Ghanaian delegation, Kristalina Georgieva stated that, contrary to the narrative from some opposition elements that Ghana is not in these challenges because of any bad policies of the Akufo-Addo administration, the IMF boss stated that the factors are exogenous.

“We have started very constructive discussions already and to the people of Ghana, like everybody on this planet, you have been hurt by exogenous shocks,” she said.

She mentioned the extraneous factors which have contributed to Ghana’s economic woes, leading to the West African country seeking a programme from the IMF.

“First the pandemic, then Russia’s war in Ukraine. We need to realize that it is not because of bad policies in the country but because of this combination of shocks, and, therefore, we have to support Ghana”, she said.

She also indicated that Ghana is a member of the IMF, “a strong country with fantastic people”, and as such, it is incumbent on the Fund to lend the country support.

Kristalina Georgieva also indicated, “we have to support Ghana because your strength contributes to the strength of your neighbours; it contributes to a stronger world”

Ghana is before the IMF for US$3 billion to help the country navigate through the hostile economic crisis it finds itself in as a result of the adverse effects of the deadly coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

President Akufo-Addo has stated, on occasion, that “we have decided to seek the collaboration of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to repair, in the short run, our public finances, which have taken a severe hit in very recent times as a result, whilst we continue to work on the medium to long-term structural changes that are at the heart of our goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid, that is building a resilient, robust Ghanaian economy.”