Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, has stated that the government’s decision to sign up to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has enable the country to receive funding support from the UK Government and other private entities.

According to him, the funds will be channeled into projects in the country.

“These support has gone to some UK firms that are investing in Ghana. One can talk about the market projects in Kumasi [Ashanti region] as well as the Kumasi Airport”, he said.

“We should not forget that if your economy is unstable it scares investors. What this IMF programme has done is to give assurance to investors that measures are being undertaking to stabilise the economy”, he added.

Mr. Owusu-Ankomah disclosed this to George Wiafe on PM Express Business Edition in London on November 2, 2023.

“The development has given some confidence to some UK financial institutions to continue lending to local firms undertaking projects in Ghana because of the favorable outlook of the economy”, he stressed.

Ghana’s economy and the IMF programme

Some international donors declined financial support to Ghana after the country started experiencing economic difficulties.

Some development partners have told Joy Business they could start to “unwind” support for Ghana after the IMF Board approves the country first review programme.

The IMF Board is expected to meet on November 22, 2023, take a decision on approving the staff report on the country’s first review. This will pave way for the disbursement of some $600 million.

Foreign capital and investment by Ghanaians

Calling for support for Ghanaian businesses, Mr. Owusu-Ankomah assured that he will do his best to encourage British investors to come to Ghana.

“This is what we need if we really want to turn around the Ghanaian economy”.

He argued that Foreign Direct Investments should complement domestic investment.

“We should not see FDIs as the solution to our current problem, because at the end of the day we should look at how, these capital can be kept in the country”, he said.

He disclosed that the team in UK is finding ways to encourage more Joint Ventures between Ghanaians foreign investment.

Mr. Owusu-Ankomah added that the UK has also been strong in the area of technical support to assist the economy.