The International Monetary Fund Mission Chief for Ghana, Stephane Roudet, has said that the 2023 budget and the associated revenue reforms are very important first steps taken by the government towards putting public finances back on the sustainable track.

According to him, a comprehensive debt restructuring and the Bank of Ghana decisive steps to control inflation are already paying off.

Speaking at a recent briefing on Ghana, Mr. Roudet said these are all essential ingredients to address the current challenges and to boost Ghana’s prospects going forward.

“Of course, help from the international community is also needed, and the IMF is playing its part. The $3 billion extended credit facility approved by the Board, will support the government’s efforts to address this crisis and build the foundations for a better and more inclusive future for all Ghanaians. It will also help ease financing constraints, including by unlocking more funding from the rest of the international community”, he explained.

Ghana’s economic programme has three key objectives. The first one is to restore macroeconomic stability. The second one is to ensure the debt is put on a sustainable path; and the third one is to lay the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth.

To reach these objectives, Mr. Roudet said several policy priorities have been laid out by the government.

This include large and front-loaded measures to bring public finances back on a sustainable path, “and this will be done by mobilizing more domestic revenue and by improving the efficiency of public spending”, he pointed out.

Again, he said “to support fiscal adjustment and enhance resilience to shocks, ambitious structural reforms will be implemented. In the areas of tax policy, revenue administration, public financial management, as well as reforms to address the weaknesses in the energy and the cocoa (phonetic) sectors”.

Finally, he pointed out that the Bank of Ghana has been raising interest rates and has, virtually, eliminated monetary financing of the budget, stressing, a flexible exchange rate policy will also be implemented to help rebuild international reserves.