Ghana pushes for approval of IMF loan by end of March
Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has expressed confidence that the country will receive approval for a $3 billion Extended Credit Facility loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of March.
The loan is dependent on the completion of a debt re-profiling deal with the Paris Club under the G20 Common Framework and a successful Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, both of which are set to be concluded by the end of February.
In an interview, Ofori-Atta said: “I’m confident that we’ll get approval for the IMF deal… We have a deadline of the end of February for the Paris Club. So we need to be able to do that and in between that, we would have completed our Domestic Exchange Programme and, therefore, to be able to go to the [IMF] board in March for this to be executed.”
The Minister also sought to allay fears that treasury bills will be affected by the government’s debt exchange programme.
He stated that treasury bills will remain untouchable as far as the debt exchange programme is concerned and that the government has conducted a Debt Sustainability Analysis which does not include T-bills.
“We can’t afford to touch it. Let me assure you, treasury bills will forever remain sacrosanct. Treasury bills are exempted completely. We have done the sustainability analysis. We are not including treasury bills. That is how the government funds its operations,” he said.
The government has been meeting with various stakeholders to build consensus on the debt exchange programme.
“Building consensus is key to a successful economic recovery for Ghana.
Pending further stakeholder engagement with institutional and individual investors, recently invited to join the debt exchange programme, the government is extending the expiration of the DDE to 31 January 2023,” a statement from the Office of the Finance Minister said.
This loan from the IMF, if approved, would provide Ghana with much-needed financial support as it continues to grapple with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
