IMF dodges Ghana again as government misses out on board meetings for April 2023

The Government of Ghana did not feature in the schedule of meetings for the Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the rest of April 2023.

This comes after the government missed an initial March 2023 deadline to present Ghana’s $3 billion bailout programme to the IMF board announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta.

The schedule of meetings for the board, on the IMF website, shows that it will meet five countries including Moldova, Central African Republic, Nepal, Eswatini and Lao People’s Democratic Republic between April 26, 2023 and May 3, 2023.

The IMF, however, indicated that its schedule is subject to change and “the agenda for each meeting is typically finalized the day before the meeting”.

Ghana missing out on the IMF board’s meeting for April casts doubt as to whether Ghana will be getting the $3 billion bailout in mid-May as some proponents of the government have indicated.

This is because the IMF board might take weeks to approve Ghana’s bailout even if it receives the country’s programme in the first week of May 2023.

The Fund is expected to assess whether the country’s policies are consistent with debt sustainability when it receives the programme from the government of Ghana.

“This assessment is based on a Debt Sustainability Assessment (DSA) conducted jointly by the IMF and World Bank to determine whether the government is able to meet all its current and future payment obligations.

“It is a forward-looking exercise that needs to take into account the authorities’ policies. In the case of Ghana, the DSA document will be presented to the Board at the same time as the program request,” a statement on the IMF website read.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has indicated that Ghana has met all the pre-conditions, hence government will get a programme with the IMF.

“What the IMF is looking forward to before it can go to its board for Ghana’s programme approval is the assurance from the Paris Club of Bilateral Creditors that that group is committed to extending the needed financing support,” Ofori-Atta said.