You can imagine what this will do to our balance of payments – Amin Adam on IMF deal

The Minister of State in charge of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has stated that the $3 billion International Monetary Fund will boost Ghana’s balance of payments.

According to him, the country will receive a total of $1.2 billion from the Fund this year adding the first tranche of the loan facility consisting of $600 million is expected to be disbursed into the Central Bank's account by Wednesday May 17, 2023.

“You can imagine what this will do to Ghana’s Balance of Payment support going forward,” he was quoted by myjoyonline.com.

The Minister in a separate conversation stated that the approval of Ghana’s request for a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund will open doors for Ghana to re-enter the international capital market.

Ghana has currently been shut out from the international capital market due to its highly unsustainable debt levels but the minister noted that the disbursement of the IMF funds will boost investor confidence in the economy, which will pave the way.

“We will go back to the market because we will leverage on the IMF deal to balance our financing needs. We have development partners supporting, but a chunk of our inflows will come from the market so with the IMF approval, we are very confident that investor confidence in Ghana will increase.

The institutions upgrading us will look favourably to Ghana and then as a result of all these, we could return to market very soon,” he was quoted by citinewsroom.com.

He also added that borrowing is inevitable for the economy, but this will also depend on whether Ghana is able to reach sustainable debt levels within the best possible time.

“It depends on how quickly we get to sustainable levels. We are hoping at attaining sustainable levels by 2028. If that is achieved, it’s possible. As for borrowing, you can’t say you won’t borrow. In as much we don’t borrow for ourselves so going to the market is a matter of course if the conditions are favourable,” Dr. Amin Adam added.

SSD/MA