Officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will today, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, begin negotiations with the government of Ghana, on the bail-out the Akufo-Addo administration is seeking.
The team is expected to meet officials of the Finance Ministry, the Economic Management Team and the Presidency during their one-week stay.
President Akufo-Addo last week instructed Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to begin negotiations with the IMF on a possible bailout to help Ghana restore confidence in the ailing economy.
The IMF team will consist of senior officials from the Fund as well as local staff based here in Ghana.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has outlined three reasons why Ghana is seeking the IMF bailout.
- Why has Ghana decided to seek support from the IMF?
Ghana is seeking IMF support for three (3) main reasons:
i. Addressing policy challenges following the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Russian and Ukraine War. The confluence of shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine War have complicated the conduct of public policy globally. They have resulted in rising debt and erosion of buffers, worsening financing conditions, high inflation, and exchange rate and BOP pressures especially for Emerging Markets and Frontier Economies. As is the case in key EMs and FMs, Ghana is seeking IMF support to back its Enhanced Domestic Programme which will seek to restore stability, help to contain the rising debt, and address the emerging BOP needs;
ii. Balance of payments support: Secondly, for concessional/cheaper financing to shore up international reserves, stabilize the cedi, continue smooth payments for imports (petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, among others) and restore conditions for strong economic growth (including support for government flagship programmes), while correcting underlying problems; and
iii. Catalytic effect: Providing catalytic effect of accessing additional financing from third parties (friendly sovereigns/commercial creditors), including resuming ICM market access sooner than later, facilitating credit rating upgrades.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
