Ken-Ofori-Atta
An International Monetary Fund staff-level agreement is expected to be reached with Ghana this week for a possible 3 billion dollar bailout. Details of the agreement are expected to form the basis for Ghana’s 2023 budget to be presented in the middle of November.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta who is leading the Ghana team in negotiations with the IMF in Washington DC, is optimistic the agreement will offer Ghana the opportunity to access the funds early next year.
“The discussions with the fund are going very well, what we intended to do is to get us [Ghana] close to a staff-level agreement as possible so that we can incorporate all of our decisions, most of them, into the budget so there will be no reversal and therefore by year-end, the board will approve,” he said.
He expressed his excitement at the level Ghana has reached with the IMF stating that if the deal is completed by the end of 2022, “it means disbursement from the fund which replaces what we would have done by going to the international market.”
Sharing his thought on the cedi’s depreciation, he said that there is no need to panic over speculations in the currency shift. This, he said is due to the record his government is known for.
But a Minority on Parliament’s Finance Committee has cast doubt over the government’s chances of closing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic programme by end of the year.
Speaking in an interview, Ranking Member on the Committee, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson said Ghana can only secure a deal with the IMF by the first quarter of 2023.
“…I am for a very quick IMF programme but I can assure you that November, December is not possible, the earliest Ghana can have an IMF programme if we are committed to it is the first quarter of 2023,” he said.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is warning of tough times ahead. Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva says the fund has so far released over 300 billion dollars to support countries in dire need of support.
