Ghana’s credit facility from IMF hits $330.3m

The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Ghana has reached $330.3 million so far.

This follows IMF’s Executive Board approval of a $94.3 million disbursement under the ECF programme which was done on May 27, 2011 according to a press release on its website.

Ghana has completed the third and fourth reviews under the ECF arrangement, the IMF says.

“The completion of the reviews will enable an immediate disbursement of an amount equivalent to about $94.3 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to about $330.3 million”, the IMF said.

The ECF which is a three-year arrangement was approved on July 15, 2009, with access of about $613.1 million for the country.

In completing the reviews, the IMF says, the Board also approved a waiver for the non-observance of the end-December 2010 performance criteria on the overall fiscal deficit and on the net change in the stock of domestic arrears as well as a rephasing of disbursements.

Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the fund was cited in the release saying, “Ghana’s economy rebounded in 2010, with strong growth and external performance. International reserves increased, the currency remained broadly stable, and inflation declined to single digits. Fiscal performance, however, deteriorated with a rise in the cash deficit and accumulation of domestic arrears.”

By Ekow Quandzie