IMF officials conclude visit to Ghana

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has concluded its discussions with government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a fund lending arrangement.

The team, led by by Stéphane Roudet, Mission Chief for Ghana, arrived in Accra on September 26, 2022.

In an earlier press statement, the IMF team said the visit will include engagements with other stakeholders such as the Bank of Ghana, Parliament, business associations and civil society groups.

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At the conclusion of the latest visit, Mr. Roudet in a statement said, “key areas of focus included ensuring public finance sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, bolstering the credibility of monetary and exchange rate policies to reduce inflation and rebuild external buffers, preserving financial sector stability, and steps to encourage private investment and growth, including by improving governance, transparency, and public sector efficiency.”

According to him, “The team will return to Washington, D.C. to advance its technical work. This includes making further progress on assessing Ghana’s debt sustainability. The discussions with the authorities
will also continue in the weeks ahead, including during the upcoming Annual Meetings that will
be convened at IMF headquarters.”

This is coming after the downgrade of Ghana’s credit to further junk status by rating agency, Fitch.

Fitch downgraded Ghana’s Long-Term Local- and Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘CC’, from ‘CCC’.

The downgrade, it said, reflects the increased likelihood that Ghana will pursue a debt restructuring given mounting financing stress, with surging interest costs on domestic debt and a prolonged lack of access to Eurobond markets.

It concluded that the IMF staff will continue to monitor the economic and social situation closely and engage in the coming weeks with the authorities on the formulation of their Enhanced Domestic Programme that could be supported by an IMF arrangement and with broad stakeholders’ consultation.