Ghana Won’t Get IMF Deal By Close Of March - Ato Forson

The Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says President Akufo-Addo is being misled with regard to the possibility of the government securing an IMF Board approval this month.He said the process that would lead to a consideration of Ghana’s request by the IMF Board has not even started. Dr Ato Forson said these processes will only start when China agrees to give Ghana a debt financing assurance.

However, the Ajumako Enyan Essiam MP said China is currently not ready to accept the haircut being proposed by the Ghanaian government.  “Mr. Speaker, our President said on authority that Ghana would get an IMF Board approval by the end of this month, I don’t know who is briefing our President, but Ghana will not be able to get an IMF Board approval by the end of this month.

“We need to get China to give Ghana financing assurance and that they are ready to take a haircut and China has not agreed,” he said in Parliament on Friday, March 17. Ghana is currently before the Bretton Woods Institution for a $3 billion bailout. As a result, the government has renegotiated its domestic debt and on course with the foreign partners as well. Due to this, President Akufo-Addo during the 2023 state of the nation address was confident the government can secure the deal by the end the month.

According to the President, the government is systematically fulfilling the terms of the staff-level agreement reached with the IMF.  “I am confident with the cooperation we’re receiv­ing from members of the Paris Club and the People’s Republic of China, which has sent a delegation from China’s Exim Bank to Accra over the weekend, to meet with officials of the Ministry of Finance, we shall be able to go to the board of the fund to conclude finally the agreement by the end of March,” he said. But the Minority Leader said Ghana is not likely to clinch a deal with the IMF in March and would be lucky to get a deal in April.