The delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Carlo Sdralevich, says it has ended its visit to Ghana, with a commitment to help the country overcome its present economic challenges.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the Fund noted that their visit was to “assess the current economic situation and discuss the broad lines of the government’s Enhanced Domestic Program that could be supported by an IMF lending arrangement.”
The visiting team, according to the statement, met key personalities in the government, including the Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta; and the Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison.
The team admitted to the impact of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war on Ghana’s fiscal and monetary position.
Ghana is facing a challenging economic and social situation amid an increasingly difficult global environment. The fiscal and debt situation has severely worsened following the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, investors’ concerns have triggered credit rating downgrades, capital outflows, loss of external market access, and rising domestic borrowing costs, “it stated.
The statement noted further that the discussions with the Ghana party centred on
“improving fiscal balances in a sustainable way while protecting the vulnerable and poor; ensuring credibility of the monetary policy and exchange rate regimes; preserving financial sector stability; and designing reforms to enhance growth, create jobs, and strengthen governance.”
On measures to assist the country, the visiting team expressed its resolve to continue monitoring the country’s economic and social situation and engage with the relevant authorities towards supporting the Enhanced Domestic Programme.
The statement mentioned, however, that the findings are only preliminary and do not necessarily represent the views of the executive board of the Fund.
On July 1, Ghana formally announced its intention to seek the support of the IMF towards fixing its balance of payment challenges and curing its distressed economic situation, which, according to the government, was occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Information Minister hinted in a media tour that they were seeking to obtain about $3 billion in support from the IMF.
The government has also maintained that it does not plan to cancel its social intervention programmes, although the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, said in his Eid-ul-Adha speech that Ghanaians should be ready to make sacrifices for the IMF programmes.
