The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the second review of Ghana’s $3 billion loan program, enabling the immediate disbursement of approximately $360 million. This follows Ghana’s agreement with its official creditor committee, a necessary step for unlocking the funds.
This latest tranche brings total IMF disbursements to $1.56 billion under the three-year program aimed at resolving Ghana’s severe economic crisis.
The IMF commended Ghana’s progress, noting signs of stabilization due to the country’s strategy to restore macroeconomic stability and reduce debt vulnerabilities.
Ghana’s central bank expects the funds within two days. The country sought IMF support in 2022 as the cedi currency plummeted and inflation soared due to overspending, the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and high global interest rates.
Ghana’s economy has shown improvement, with economic growth reaching 2.9% in 2023 and 4.7% in Q1 2024. Inflation has dropped from over 54% in December 2022 to 23.1% last month, though the cedi continues to depreciate.
Ghana is restructuring its $30 billion debt under the G20’s Common Framework, having recently reached an agreement to restructure around $13 billion of its debt. This deal will see bondholders forego $4.7 billion of their loans and provide $4.4 billion in cash flow relief until the program concludes in 2026. Bondholders will also face a principal “haircut” of up to 37%.