President Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghana will receive the financial bailout it is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by March 2023.
He made the assurance when he met German Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner last Friday at Jubilee House in Accra.
According to him, everything Ghana needs to do or submit to reach an agreement with the fund has been done and is optimistic that the processes have been finalized.
He noted that it is important for other creditors to support the efforts his government is making to restructure the country’s domestic and foreign debt, in order to allow the deal with the IMF to fall apart quickly.
President Nana Addo said “We have already taken one important step forward in concluding a staff-level agreement with the IMF. One of the steps was the domestic debt exchange programme which encountered a lot of difficulties, but it has now been virtually concluded.”
“We are now looking towards going the full hog and concluding the agreement. We’re hoping that will be done by the middle of March,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nana Addo urged Germany to encourage China, a special member of the Paris Club, to support Ghana’s debt restructuring efforts.
He said it was essential that the Paris Club quickly establish, with the participation of other official creditors, a committee of creditors, to support efforts to help Ghana restore economic growth.
In December 2022, the government reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF as part of the process leading up to the bailout.
Ghana is seeking $3 billion from the IMF to cover the shortfall and repay foreign debt.
