President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says government has made substantial progress in the negotiation with bilateral creditors and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme to secure financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking at the May Day celebration in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, the President said after reaching staff level agreement in December 2022, government had worked hard to secure the financial assurances required to secure the IMF programme.

“We are very confident that the approval of the IMF programme will contribute significantly to the revival of the confidence required to drive the sets of implementation of the post-COVID-19 programme for economic growth and the key structural reforms for economic recovery for sustained and inclusive growth.

“Already, the progress we made in securing the IMF staff-level agreement in the debt exchange programme and the implementation of key structural reforms are yielding results,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo noted that inflation was decelerating, interest rates on government treasury loans declining and the depreciation of the Cedi slowing down while the GDP for 2022 had performed beyond expectation and post-COVID-19 programme for economic growth expected to influence economic growth by 95 percent in the medium term.

He said key interventions such as supporting improvement in the business environment and export competiveness, promotion of entrepreneurship for private sector development, and broadening tax revenue mobilization among others would contribute to achieving the medium development targets.

President Akufo-Addo indicated that in the midst of the economic crisis, the government could not afford to default on the payment of the public debt and that was the reason it initiated the debt exchange programme.

“I wish to emphasize the participation in the domestic debt exchange programme, voluntary as it was, was critical to the protection of the economy and the enhancement of the capacity to service the public debt effectively and create fiscal phase for growth and development.

The President acknowledged the impact of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme on the domestic financial sector and said steps were underway to mitigate the impact on the sector and institutions.

“As has been announced by the Finance Minister, we are establishing the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF) to provide, amongst others, solvency and liquidity support to eligible financial sector institutions, which may be affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. “In addition, the Bank of Ghana and the regulators in the financial sector space have provided some regulatory reliefs to support affected institutions,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo explained that in the era of economic crisis, there was the need for increased and diverse production, consumption of local produced goods, increase revenue mobilization and sustainable management of the public sector wage bill.

“The current crisis provides an impetus for diversifying trade and production, and exploring alternative income earning opportunities. As you know, we are committed to the policy of domestic food security and export-driven value addition.

“It is in our interest to patronize domestic goods and services to hasten economic recovery, create jobs for our peoples, and boost their incomes,” he said.

The President assured Ghanaians that the economy would soon witness a turnaround, adding “we are confident of a rapid economic recovery, and my government will not relent in this regard. It is a solemn pledge I am making to you, my fellow Ghanaians, and one which I am determined to fulfill”.