Business News of Wednesday, 1 March 2023

Source: GNA

Akufo-Addo confident Ghana will clinch IMF deal by close of March

President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government is systematically fulfilling the terms of the staff-level agreement reached with the IMF and is confident that it will secure a deal by the end of March.

With the successful process of the domestic debt exchange programme and the support received from other creditors, he was upbeat that Ghana would clinch the $3 billion bailout from the IMF to improve the country’s economic situation.

“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.

Speaking at the presentation of the annual new year greetings to the Diplomatic Community at the Peduase Lodge on Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo said the agreement with the Fund would set the stage for the strong recovery of Ghana’s economy.

He urged the country’s friends to weigh in with words of support at the Fund as part of efforts to reset the economy and restore stability.

“Needless to say, we would hope that all Ghana’s friends would weigh in with words of support at the Fund as part of efforts to reset the economy and restore stability."

Ghana is currently seeking an IMF-support programme to the tune of $3 billion to revive its struggling economy. The government in December 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the Fund as part of processes leading to a bailout.