President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has justified Ghana’s recent IMF deal as a means of stabilising the country’s economy.
Ghana received US$600 million – the first tranche of the US$3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability towards economic recovery.
Speaking during a panel discussion on Bloomberg TV at the 2023 Qatar Economic Forum, President Akufo-Addo said it is crucial for Ghana to seek support from the Fund considering the economic situation it found itself in.
He said the support from the Bretton Woods institution will position the country to be able to go back to the international capital market.
“Before the COVID- pandemic the Ghanaian economy had achieved microeconomic stability and was in the process of rapid growth. Come the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the Russia-Ukraine disaster these had a tremendous impact on our economy. Suddenly, we were facing major challenges on our balance of payment, our currency was in steep decline, interest rates went out of the window, inflation… and that is what forced us to seek the assistance of the Fund…”
“Now we believe that it [IMF deal] is going to provide us with the foundation for redirecting the economy; repositioning the Ghanaian economy, firstly, to regain the microeconomic stability that has been lost. Secondly, to be able to have better control over important data like interest rate, inflation and finally to position us to be able to go back to the international capital market,” the president added.
Last week, Ghana’s central bank paused its steepest phase of monetary tightening, after clinching the US$3 billion lifeboat from the IMF, and Ghana now expects the downward trend in inflation to continue.
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