Stephane Roudet, the new IMF Mission Chief and lead negotiator for Ghana’s bailout programme, has arrived in the country to meet with government officials.
In a tweet shared by the Finance Ministry, Mr Roudent has already met with Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta and other officials at the ministry.
The IMF Mission Chief was also joined by the first Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari.
The visit comes a few days after Stephane Roudet was effective September 1, 2022 appointed by the Fund to replace Carlo Sdralevich who has taken up another assignment at its Finance Department.
His first trip to Ghana is expected to prepare the grounds ahead of a full mission which is set to commence by the end of September 2022.
The new IMF Mission Chief is also expected to meet key heads of government institutions and agencies as part of stakeholder engagements ahead of an economic support programme by the end of this year.
In an interaction with the Finance Minister, Stephane Roudet said the Fund remains committed to accelerating bailout negotiations to help restore Ghana’s macroeconomic stability.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgiva, recently said her outfit is determined to reach an agreement with the Government of Ghana by the end of this year.
She added that constructive discussions have so far been held with Ghanaian authorities for a possible economic support programme.
Ghana is said to be targeting an amount of $3 billion over three years from the Fund once an agreement on a programme is reached. The new amount requested as a loan was double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion.
The new IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Finance.
Mr Roudet is in the country following his appointment as the new IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, effective September 1, 2022. pic.twitter.com/L4CqOCwW4H
Stephane Roudet, new IMF mission chief for Ghana