The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to present Ghana’s sixth and final programme review, together with the country’s request for a new Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI), to its Executive Board on July 27.
IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, Ruben Atoyan, disclosed this on yet-to-be aired JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition..
According to him, the IMF team is returning to Washington DC to prepare its final staff report and make what he described as a “strong case” to the Board for approval of Ghana’s programme.
Dr Atoyan explained that once the Board approves the report, the final tranche of more than $318 million under Ghana’s bailout programme is expected to hit the account of the Bank of Ghana.
He clarified that Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme has not officially ended yet despite the recent staff-level agreement reached in Accra.
“What happened in Accra was a staff-level agreement, and not a programme conclusion,” he said.
“This should mean the IMF team and Government of Ghana have reached an understanding on policies needed to complete this review,” he added.
Dr. Atoyan described the IMF mission to Ghana as “very fruitful,” noting that the visit allowed the team to engage stakeholders beyond official government meetings.
“We had the opportunity to engage cocoa farmers, power producers and some gold refinery as well,” he said.
According to him, those engagements are critical in shaping the IMF’s final assessment of Ghana’s economic programme.
He also expressed optimism that government would complete all outstanding commitments before the Board meeting in July.
“We are hopeful that by July 27, all commitments have been undertaken by the Government, so we can secure the necessary approvals,” he stated.
An IMF staff team led by Dr Atoyan visited Accra from April 29 to May 15 to discuss the 2026 Article IV consultation, the sixth and final review of Ghana’s ECF programme, and the country’s request for a non-financing PCI.
At the end of the mission, the IMF said Ghana’s programme had delivered “substantial stabilisation gains,” including lower inflation, stronger reserves, improved confidence in the cedi and progress in debt restructuring.
The Fund also stressed the need for reforms in the energy sector, especially at the Electricity Company of Ghana.
It said priority should be given to tackling distribution and collection losses at ECG, including finalising private sector participation in the distribution business.
Ghana entered into the 36-month IMF Extended Credit Facility arrangement in May 2023, with access to about $3 billion in support.
Myjoyonline
