U.S. Senator wants Ghana to pay off debts to American companies with IMF funding
A Ranking Member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator James E. Risch, has asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to leverage the country’s position as the IMF’s largest shareholder to ask the IMF to get Ghana repay its debts to American entities.
It will be the precondition for U.S. support for further IMF assistance to Ghana, he warned.
Expressing formal concerns about the potential $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Ghana, Senator Risch cited significant unpaid debts owed by the government of Ghana to American companies.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senator Risch claimed that Ghana owes approximately $251 million in arrears to several U.S.-based businesses, including Twin City Energy (TCE), American Tower Company, GSM, Chubb, Kosmos Energy, and Zipline.
These arrears, he noted, have placed a severe financial burden on these companies and threaten their operations in Ghana.
It is my understanding that the government of Ghana owes approximately $251 million in outstanding payments to American companies,” Senator Risch wrote.
“These unpaid debts place substantial financial strain on U.S. businesses in Ghana and jeopardise their operations and investments.”
Senator Risch expressed apprehension that the IMF’s anticipated approval of a $3 billion Extended Credit Facility for Ghana would proceed without addressing these outstanding debts.
He argued that this could set a harmful precedent for other sovereign borrowers and negatively impact U.S. companies operating abroad.
The senator emphasised that two of the affected companies, Twin City Energy and Chubb, have investments backed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), meaning that Ghana’s arrears not only affect private businesses but also investments financed by U.S. taxpayers.
Urging Secretary Yellen to leverage the United States’ position as the IMF’s largest shareholder, Senator Risch maintained that U.S. support for further IMF assistance to Ghana be made contingent upon the Ghanaian government’s commitment to repaying its debts to American entities.
I urge you to direct our executive director at the IMF to make clear that U.S. support for further IMF assistance to Ghana will depend on a good faith effort to establish a concrete and enforceable repayment plan for the remaining outstanding arrears,” he stated.
The proposed repayment plan, according to Senator Risch, should include transparent auditing, reporting, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance.
He also suggested that portions of the IMF disbursement be allocated specifically to clear debts owed to American companies.
Senator Risch warned that proceeding with IMF disbursements without addressing Ghana’s debt obligations could undermine constructive U.S. engagement with Ghana and deepen Ghana’s reliance on international financial assistance.
Allowing the next disbursement without addressing these concerns deepens Ghana’s reliance on international assistance while neglecting its obligations to U.S. private-sector partners,” he cautioned.
The letter, copied to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Executive Director of the IMF Elizabeth Shortino, and DFC CEO Scott Nathan, also pointed to the urgency of resolving the issue.
This development comes as the IMF Board of Directors prepares to review Ghana’s Third Programme under the Extended Credit Facility later this month.
