The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has stated that a deal between Ghana and the IMF should be reached and finalized before the end of the year.
In a closed-door meeting with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, 5 September 2022, on the sidelines of the Africa Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the IMF boss told President Akufo-Addo: “We understand the urgency, and we will move as quickly as possible.”
Describing Ghana as a “superb country”, she reiterated the determination of the Fund to work with the Government and the Ministry of Finance, and ensure that an agreement is in place before the end of the year.
For his part, President Akufo-Addo indicated to the IMF boss that a lot of work has been done by his Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance, and the document to be presented by the Ghana side “is ready for the scrutiny of the IMF.”
Meanwhile, Kristalina Georgieva has emphasised that Ghana’s current economic challenges are not locally generated but from external shocks.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Fund’s engagements with the Ghanaian delegation, Kristalina Georgieva stated: “We have started very constructive discussions already and to the people of Ghana, like everybody on this planet, you have been hurt by exogenous shocks”.
“Firstly, the pandemic, then Russia’s war in Ukraine. We need to realise that it is not because of bad policies in the country but because of this combination of shocks, and, therefore, we have to support Ghana”, she said.
She also indicated that Ghana is “a strong country with fantastic people”, and, as a member of the IMF, it was incumbent on the Fund to lend the country support in times of crisis.
The IMF MD also indicated: “We have to support Ghana because your strength contributes to the strength of your neighbours; it contributes to a stronger world”.
Ghana is before the IMF for US$3 billion.
President Akufo-Addo has stated on many occasions: “We have decided to seek the collaboration of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to repair, in the short run, our public finances, which have taken a severe hit in very recent times as a result, whilst we continue to work on the medium to long-term structural changes that are at the heart of our goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid, that is building a resilient, robust Ghanaian economy.”
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