Financial bailout: Ghana, IMF likely to reach staff-level agreement by Tuesday - Report

Ghana is likely to reach a staff-level agreement on its US$3 billion financial assistance request from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by Tuesday, December 13, 2022, Reuters has reported.

The news portal noted that three of its sources confirmed this after Government of Ghana had a meeting with some delegates of the Bretton Woods institution.

"The IMF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Ghana's finance ministry said they cannot comment beyond that the negotiations were ongoing," Reuters said in its report.

Ghana is targeting an amount of $3 billion over a three-year period from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is finalized.

The new amount requested as a loan is double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion.

The IMF financial bailout is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability among many others.

It would be recalled that some staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Ghana on December 1, 2022, to engage the Government of Ghana on its economic bailout programme.

The team was led by their Mission Chief for Ghana at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Stéphane Roudet.

Ahead of their visit to Ghana, Mr Roudet noted that the IMF remains fully committed to help Ghana restore macroeconomic stability, bring relief to Ghanaians in this time of crisis, and lay the foundation for more inclusive growth.

ESA/FNOQ