IMF to Release $236m to Ghana in May

By Justice Dzido On Apr 24, 2018

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde makes remarks during a conversation entitled "G20: Compact With Africa" at the Institute of International Finance's (IIF) annual meeting, during the IMF and World Bank's 2017 Annual Fall Meetings, in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

The IMF should be releasing about two hundred and thirty-six million dollars ($236,000,000) to Ghana under the agreement with the Fund, by the first week of May this year.

This will be the total of the fifth and sixth disbursements under the economic support program.

These among others were the highlights at this year’s spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank in Washington, DC.

The release of the figure means the Fund is at least satisfied with Ghana’s performance so far under the agreement.

This also comes on the back of the IMF mission’s review of Ghana’s performance, last month (March).

A Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who joined the team to Washington, tells Citi Business News the disbursements should help in financing essential government needs.

“The disbursement generally will go towards budgetary support broadly and at this stage that is how some of these things have been structured. It is rather some of the other items that we are looking at which will go into some of the specific development items that we mentioned before Parliament rose,” he explained.

Aside impressing the Fund with efforts to sustain or surpass the 8.5 percent growth recorded for the first year in office, the government is also pitching for an acceptance of its ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda.

Some government officials have embarked on non deal road shows both in Asia and in the US.

The exercise is expected to culminate in the issuing of bonds as part of restructuring the country’s debt.

But Kojo Oppong Nkrumah tells Citi Business News they should be in the good books of the Fund once the debts are at sustainable levels.

“If you have a prudent budget program which says that no matter what you do, your finances should not go beyond the 4.5 to 5 percent target, then the bond issues that do not exceed the target, nobody has a problem with you. So to the extent that we are staying within our prudent budget program, nobody has a problem with us as everybody encourages us to do well to stay within the budget and not to overrun the deficit,” he argued.

Ghana entered into the IMF agreement in 2015 for a credit support of 918 million dollars.

Originally, the IMF program was scheduled to end in April 2018, but it has since been extended to April 2019 after the NPP government agreed to an extension of the program.