Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta says the eventual conclusion of the IMF program will assist in the country’s efforts to restore stability, tackle inflation, and strengthen the currency.
As such he has called on stakeholders and Ghanaians in general to support the IMF staff-level agreement on the $3 billion and three years extended Credit Facility with Ghana.
Read: IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement on a $3 billion, 3 years Extended Credit Facility with Ghana
“Truly, the eventual conclusion of the program will assist us in our efforts to restore stability, tackle inflation, and strengthen our currency. That is why the various ingredients of the program should be supported by all Ghanaians and all stakeholders. We can only get to the IMF Board if we get sufficient commitment from our creditors in support of the debt operation.” He said.
At a joint press conference with the IMF and the Bank of Ghana on Tuesday, December 14, 2022, he explained that the country finds itself in a difficult economic environment and the agreement now paves a way for its early approval.
“So to give you a bit of a context, a lot of work, indeed, has gone on behind the scenes for, I guess, five to six months when government formally announced its intention to engage the fund for a supported program to enable us to reach a staff level agreement before year-end, which look like an impossible task because, as Stephan mentioned, these are really grave times in a very difficult economic environment. But this now, today, paves the way for the IMF Management and Executive Board to approve Ghana’s program request early, hopefully, next year,” he said.
He notes that Ghana is blessed to conclude the agreement with IMF given the speed with which it has been reached.
“So in recent times, this is quite historic in terms of the speed in which we, have come to this. And if we look also at the path that Zambia, Chad, and Ethiopia have gone to, we can see that this is quite a miracle in its making.” He continued.
Mr. Ofori Atta, therefore, thanked the IMF team for their commitment throughout the process.
He also commended President Akufo Addo and Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia for their leadership the president and vice for their leadership, direction, and encouragement throughout the process.
The IMF Staff level agreement is designed to restore the economic stability of Ghana and ensure debt sustainability.
According to the IMF, “About 60 percent of DSSI countries are at high risk of debt distress or already in debt distress—when a country has started or is about to start, a debt restructuring, or when a country is accumulating arrears. Among the 41 DSSI countries at high risk of or in debt distress, Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia (under the HIPC framework), and Zambia have already requested a debt treatment.”
Source: Aba Aikins Appah/ATLFMNEWS
