Ken Ofori-Atta, the country’s finance minister, is hopeful that the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would accept the second installment of the nation’s agreement with the Fund.
The Minister said he has engaged foreign creditors, who have in turn given him encouraging guarantees regarding the future of Ghana’s debt restructuring program in the upcoming weeks, on the business edition of JoyNews’ PM Express.
On the strength of these, Mr. Ofori-Atta is still optimistic that the nation will be able to convince the Fund’s Board to accept the second installment of financial help.
“My deep sense is that we will get whatever is appropriate for the Fund Board to be able to make their decision in November. I am confident about it. And yes, we did meet with the officials from Paris Club and there was pretty positive assurance.
“I also had the opportunity to meet the Governor of the PPOC of China which is their central bank and his assurances were also very positive. So really, I am confident that we would get to the Board and it will approve our next tranche,” he told George Wiafe on Thursday.
Ghana is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the second round of IMF funding. The nation must first reorganize its foreign debt in order to get the aid package, which is a challenge. It is possible that the distribution will be delayed if this criteria is not met.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Ghana has struggled with the economic consequences, which have aggravated its budgetary problems and increased the need for outside financial assistance.
Therefore, the support of the IMF is essential for balancing the budget, stabilizing the economy, and reducing the pandemic’s negative impacts on the populace.
The first $600 million of the $3 billion was credited to Ghana’s bank account on Wednesday, May 17.
The money was used to maintain the budget and the balance of payments, stabilize the foreign exchange rate, and rein in inflation.
