Economist and political risk analyst, Dr Theophilus Acheampong is optimistic about Ghana securing the second tranche of funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Fund has rescheduled its Executive Board meeting to review Ghana’s programme and approve some $600 million for the country to January 19, 2024.

Speaking on JoyNews, Dr Acheampong attributed the delay in the review meeting to ongoing negotiations on the restructuring of Ghana's bilateral external debts.

“From all indications, the hurdle for now has been crossed, and what that means is that in the coming three or four days, when the IMF executive board meets, they are actually going to now consider the review of the first program, which Ghana completed as far back as October of last year, and then subsequently, when they review and it is okay, 600 million is going to be released. I did indicate that that money is going to come sometime towards the end of January.”

In an interview on Tuesday, January 16, he mentioned that the IMF deal goes beyond a quick cash boost for the government while encouraging more companies to participate in the economic market.

The expert explained that if the IMF had waited until February or March, companies would have finished their financial activities for the year and started taking back their profits.

Mr. Acheampong said this could have caused the currency to lose a lot of value because people would have bet against the cedi.

"But given that this has actually come through and the release of the fund has come through, that would go a long way toward boosting the reserves and, most importantly, sending a signal that the IMF program is on track, but there are challenges. There are some areas we still have to meet, but with the pace of the program and implementation, it's actually quite a positive thing.”

Background

The IMF Executive Board was originally scheduled to meet on January 18, 2024, to review Ghana's program.

However, the board meeting was rescheduled to allow more time to review and approve the program.

The delay was due to the fact that Ghana had not yet reached an agreement with its bilateral creditors.

 On January 12, 2024, Ghana and its bilateral creditors reached an agreement, paving the way for the board meeting to be rescheduled.

If all goes well, Ghana should receive the $600 million it has requested under the program within four working days of the meeting.