The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board has passed Ghana on the third programme review and approved disbursement of some US$360 million to Ghana.

This was after it met to consider the IMF Staff Report on Ghana’s third programme review in Washington DC USA on December 2, 2024. 

JOYBUSINESS understands that the board was satisfied with the progress made by government in meeting key targets under the review process.

Sources say the $360 million has been approved by the board. The money is expected to hit the account of the Bank of Ghana before December 7, 2024.

Background

The IMF staff and government in October this year reached a staff level agreement on economic policies and reforms for the third review of the ECF arrangement.

The disbursement by the IMF Board in December 2024 will bring the total funds received since Ghana signed up for the programme to $1.92 billion.

The board meeting in December is coming after Ghana passed most of the benchmarks set under the third review by the IMF programme.

The IMF staff at the end of the third review assessment indicated that all the end-June 2024 quantitative targets were met, and progress on key structural reforms has continued notwithstanding delays in a few areas

“The economic growth in the first half of 2024 was much higher than initially envisaged primarily fueled by mining, construction, and information and communication activity, with a broadening of the sources of growth across sectors during the second quarter as inflation continued to decline”, The IMF Staff said.

IMF on Programme Performance and disbursement

The Director of Communications at the IMF Julie Kozack during a recent press conference in Washington DC noted that disbursement of funds will be carried as soon as the board approves the funds.

“Once the review is completed by the IMF's executive board, Ghana would have access to about $360 million in terms of disbursement”, she said.

“The Fund is also satisfied with how Ghana has managed the debt Exchange Programme”.

Impact

This development could go a long way to strengthen the cedi’s recovery against the dollar in recent times and also signal to investors and Donors that that Government is on track with programmes aimed at stabilizing the economy.

The Bank of Ghana’s International Reserves which  stands at  7.92 billion cedis in November this year , should now cross the 8 billion dollar mark.