The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is waiting for the outcome of Ghana’s engagement with its bilateral creditors before releasing the next tranche of the $3 billion bailout package.
This was disclosed by the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, in a tweet on Wednesday after meeting Ghanaian officials to discuss the way forward.
Ghana recently reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF following a review of the country’s economic progress after the first tranche of $600 million was disbursed.
Georgieva congratulated Ghana on securing the staff-level agreement.
In a tweet, she said “Great to meet @MoF_Ghana Min Ofori-Atta & @thebankofghana Gov Addison at #IMFMeetings. Congrats on the recent staff-level agreement on the Fund-supported program’s first review. Counting on bilateral creditors reaching agreement on debt relief soon to move the review forward.”
The IMF and Ghana reached a staff-level agreement on October 6 on economic policies and reforms to conclude the first review of the country’s three-year program under the Extended Credit Facility.
This agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board and receipt of the necessary financing assurances.
The IMF has praised Ghana’s strong policy and reform commitment under the program, which it says is bearing fruit and leading to signs of economic stabilization.
In a report, the IMF noted that growth in 2023 has proven more resilient than initially envisaged, inflation has declined, the fiscal and external positions have improved, and the exchange rate has stabilized.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has appealed to its bilateral creditors to quickly agree on current debt relief terms to enable Ghana to secure the second tranche of the package from the IMF.
“Grateful for strong IMF support, and calling on bilateral creditors to agree on debt relief terms as quickly as possible,” the Ministry posted on its X (Twitter) handle.