IMF staff arrive in Ghana for second review, third tranche talks

Ghana is set to undergo its second review of the three-year, $3 billion IMF-supported post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).

Commencing today, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, this review comes on the heels of the successful completion of the first review earlier in January.

Over the weekend, the mission staff from the IMF arrived in the country to commence the assessment of Ghana’s performance against the program’s objectives. This evaluation will span the next two weeks.

During this period, Ghana’s adherence to the prescribed programme objectives will be scrutinized closely, with a focus on areas such as economic recovery, fiscal management, and structural reforms.

The outcome of this review will have significant implications for Ghana’s economic trajectory and its relationship with international financial institutions.

Already, the government has expressed confidence in passing this review of the IMF programme, as it is hopeful of meeting all structural targets to unlock the third tranche of IMF cash of $360 million by the end of June.

This round of assessment by the IMF will be the second programme review after the bailout was finalized but the first of the two reviews expected this year.

The next review for 2024 is scheduled for November.

The IMF team will consider the qualitative and quantitative targets after the second tranche facility was released to the country for budgetary support.

However, this is happening despite the challenges the government grappling with reaching an agreement with its bilateral and commercial creditors for the restructuring of external debts.

Although the government has made significant progress in negotiations, it remains optimistic that it will be successful in securing the third tranche of $360 million to bring the disbursements to about $1.56 billion so far.

During the visit, the IMF will be meeting, the President, government and Central Bank officials, and civil society organizations among others.

Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam and Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison have both assured that the government is prepared to stay the course.

The IMF mission staff will end on Friday, April 12, 2024, after which they will return to Washington DC with their status report subject to the approval of the IMF Board.