The IMF's new Mission Chief for Ghana, Stephane Roudet, on Wednesday engaged the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison.

Mr. Roudet was accompanied by a former Mission Chief to Ghana, Annalisa Fedelino. In Governor Addison’s team were; the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, Directors of Research, Financial Markets, Financial Stability and Banking Supervision Departments of the Bank.

The Roudet Visit

Mr. Roudet who is expected to lead the IMF team to negotiate with Ghana Government on its economic programme, has been on an “Informal” familiarization two-day visit to Ghana since Monday. He has already met the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and his team on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, with sources describing the engagement as informal.

JOYBUSINESS is learning that the visit by the new mission Chief to Ghana was to offer him an opportunity to familiarize himself with Government officials that he will be engaging during the IMF mission engagement by the end of September 2022. Mr. Roudet has also met some leaders of civil society groups during this visit .

Mr. Stephane Roudet is expected to return to Washington DC, USA on Thursday September 8, 2022.  

Ghana’s Programme with the IMF

Government is expected to open formal negotiations with the IMF team in the last week of September, 2022.

However, before that meeting, Government should have its Domestic Enhanced Programme document in place, which will be approved by the IMF.

This should also include Government programme on how it plans to restructure Ghana’s total debt stock which has reached GH¢393 billion as of the end of June 2022.

The IMF has already been having some video conferencing with other government agencies as part of the broader engagement for the programme.

Government is expecting to get about $3billion from the IMF spread over three years.

Brief on Mr. Roudet?

The Immediate Advisor at office of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Stephane Roudet was on September 1, 2022 appointed as the new Mission Chief for Ghana.

He replaces Carlo Sdralevich, who will be taking on another assignment in the IMF’s Finance Department.

He is expected to lead the IMF team to negotiate with the Government of Ghana for a programme which discussions will start by the end of September 2022.

After joining the Fund from the private sector, Mr. Roudet held various positions in the African and European Departments, as a desk economist, working on several programme countries, and in the Middle East and Central Asia Department, as Assistant to the Director and Mission Chief for Kuwait, Oman, and Djibouti.

The IMF continues to support Ghana’s efforts to overcome the current economic crisis, and the staff team is working closely with the authorities on their ongoing economic programme.