Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison, has reiterated the government’s resolve to ensuring that state institutions do not derail the nation’s coffers with election expenditure.
He says the narrative has retarded the economic progress of the country, something the government is determined to eradicate this year, despite it being an election year.
According to Dr. Addison, Ghana has not been able to successfully implement any IMF facility in an election year due to the excessive expenditure incurred by state institutions, an occurrence this administration has vowed to abate.
Dr. Addison made this statement during a press briefing on Saturday, April 13, 2024 after Ghana reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
“In Ghana’s recent history, we have not been able to successfully implement an IMF-supported programme in an election year without derailment,” the Central Bank Governor said.
“The Government and the Central Bank are committed to changing that narrative…and we will remain committed to ensure that programme implementation stays firm,” he added.
Meanwhile, it is expected that when the IMF Board meets in June this year, it would approve Ghana’s GHS$360m third tranche, following a staff-level agreement reached between Ghanaian authorities and the IMF Mission team.
That would bring the total disbursement for Ghana’s ECF arrangement backed by the country’s Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) to US$1.56 bn.
Already, the country had received the sum of US$1.2 bn from the first two tranches since the implementation of the US$3bn-three-year IMF loan-support programme.
The programme is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, build resilience, and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.
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