According to the Reuters, Ghana’s official creditors are set to meet on Monday, January 8, to discuss restructuring some US$5.4 billion in loans to the country.

The meeting is very crucial to Ghana securing its next tranche of funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Official Creditor Committee (OCC), co-chaired by the governments of the People’s Republic of China and France.

Together, the two countries among the bilateral lenders hold around 25% of Ghana’s $20 billion external debt earmarked for restructuring.

Reports from the Reuters indicate that the meeting is expected to focus on a consensus about a ‘cut-off date’, after which new loans from bilateral creditors will not be restructured.

Defining this date has emerged as a stumbling block for Ghana in its debt rework.

The exact date to be set as the cut-off date has torn Ghana’s external creditors apart as one group of creditors are advocating for December 31, 2022, as the cut-off date, referencing Ghana’s default earlier in that month, while other group are pushing for March 24, 2020, the date when the Group of 20 introduced the debt service suspension initiative (DSSI) to aid the world’s poorest countries during the COVID crisis.

“Ghana is still about cut-off date, but creditors haven’t agreed yet,” a source from the Reuters said. “If the cut-off date is agreed, that means an agreement on debt restructuring is close.”

In preparation for the OCC meeting on January 8, the Paris Club, consisting of major creditor nations (excluding China), will convene on Friday, according to two sources.

EAN/OGB

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