Ghana is close to receiving a $3 billion IMF rescue as creditors provide funding guarantees – Report

Ghana’s chances of securing a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan is said to have received a boost as its official creditors prepare to grant financing assurances and form a committee.

According to a report by Reuters, the committee will be co-chaired by France and China as bilateral lenders are expected to officially grant financing assurances as soon as Friday.

This will pave the way for talks for Ghana to receive the much-needed relief toward debt sustainability.

One source said the IMF executive board could approve the $3 billion loan by next week if assurances are given.

In a news briefing on Thursday, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said the Fund is hopeful its executive board can quickly consider the Ghana program once enough official bilateral creditor assurances have been secured.

“We have seen strong progress toward creditors delivering on these financing assurances and we’re hopeful that they can be delivered very rapidly,” Kozack said.

Earlier in April, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta revealed that Ghana was likely to receive the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Board approval for a $3 billion bailout by the close of May 2023.

As Ghana struggles through its economic crisis, defaulting on its debt in December and completing a debt restructuring in February, the IMF bailout is expected to ease her economic burdens.

Ghana is also in talks to rework $14.6 billion of debt to private overseas creditors.