President Akufo-Addo to address nation on IMF engagements – Information Minister
Ghana facing economic distress
Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund to Ghana, Dr. Albert Touna-Mama, has disclosed that a second team of experts will arrive in the country over the coming weeks.
According to him, the team will arrive to continue their data gathering exercise and hold further engagements with government officials in assessing the current economic situation geared towards an Enhanced Domestic Program for Ghana.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, the IMF resident representative said the second team will also focus on Ghana’s public financial management system, tax regime and other critical sectors of the economy.
“We don’t expect a deal to be done next month as there’s still a lot of work to be done. What has been agreed on is to continue to work together. My colleagues have gone back to Washington but in the coming weeks, we’ll still be having some virtual discussions, and in the next couple of weeks there will be some experts from the IMF coming into the country to look at the country’s public financial management system, it’s tax regime while reviewing other sectors of the economy,” Dr Touna-Mama explained.
“We also have additional data that we need to gather and analyze, so it will take some time,” he added.
Meanwhile, officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have concluded their formal visit to Ghana from July 6-13.
The team which was led Carlo Sdralevich, mission chief for Ghana met with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, and Governor Addison of the Bank of Ghana.
They also met with the Parliament’s Finance Committee, civil society organizations, and development partners, including UNICEF and the World Bank to engage on social spending.
Following the meetings, Head of the Mission in a statement observed that the country’s economy was affected by the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Ghana is facing a challenging economic and social situation amid an increasingly difficult global environment. The fiscal and debt situation has severely worsened following the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, investors’ concerns have triggered credit rating downgrades, capital outflows, loss of external market access, and rising domestic borrowing costs.
“In addition, the global economic shock caused by the war in Ukraine is hitting Ghana at a time when the country is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic shock and with limited room for maneuver. These adverse developments have contributed to slowing economic growth, accumulation of unpaid bills, a large exchange rate depreciation, and a surge in inflation,” the statement read in part.
MA/FNOQ
Dr. Albert Touna-Mama, IMF resident representative to Ghana