A government delegation is currently in Washington DC participating in the World Bank-IMF Spring meetings while hoping to advance talks towards securing a $3 billion support programme.

However, some economists are already concerned about how long the economy can withstand what they believe has been the delay in accessing the programme.

According to the risk analyst Dr. Theo Acheampong, if the IMF programme delays and the first tranche of the funding is not released, then the numbers presented in the 2023 Budget will not make sense anymore.”

He stated that the budget for 2023 must be revised and a new estimate be presented to Parliament.

According to him, with the revised budget, he expects a deeper cut on the government’s expenditure to compensate for the revenue loss.

“The Finance Minister wouldn’t have to wait until the new mid-year budget in July. We expect that he will have to go to Parliament between now and July, possibly sometime towards the end of the month with some revised budget numbers,” he said in an interview aired on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday.

Also, an economist and tax analyst, Eric Amponsah Boateng says failure to secure the deal by the end of April could spell doom.

According to him, the country should have gone to the IMF in 2022. However, government delayed thinking it could salvage the situation.

“If we do not get the bailout by probably the end of this month, it is going to have an effect on the growth and development of Ghana,“ he said.

Meanwhile, the World Bank says there is a need for “a faster and more inclusive” debt restructuring talks on the international front to enable Ghana to access an IMF programme to contain the current economic situation.

This is contained in the World Bank’s April 2023 Africa Pulse report which also calls for all creditors to commit to negotiating at the same level with all other nations to enable debt-distressed countries like Ghana “shore up stability for growth”.