Ministry says Ghana has not missed deadline for IMF second tranche payment of $3b loan

The Ministry of Finance, has clarified that Ghana has not missed any November 1 deadline for the disbursement of $600 million, the second tranche of the $3 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday, November 10, explained that the said November 1, 2023, was rather, an indicative timeline for the completion of the first review, which was achieved on October 6.

“There is no November 1, 2023 timeline for disbursement of the second tranche of the IMF funds… The exact timeline for the Board date is determined by the IMF Executive Board,” the statement noted.

The IMF Board is expected to meet in the third week of November over the approval of Ghana’s Staff Level Agreement (SLA) for the disbursement of another $600m, having completed a first review of the $3 billion loan-support programme.

“It is trite knowledge that the IMF Executive Board Meeting to approve Ghana’s first review, must occur before the disbursement of the next tranche of IMF Funds,” the statement explained.

At the end of the Staff Mission, the Fund noted that it was critical for Ghana to reach an agreement with its external creditors.

The agreement would spell out specific debt treatment that external creditors would agree on with Ghana as part of the implementation of government’s ongoing three-year $3 billion IMF loan-support programme.

On this matter, the Ministry stated that: “The government of Ghana is making good progress in accordance with its strategic plan to engage the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) of the Paris Club; secure a Memorandum of Understanding on debt restructuring; and go before the IMF Executive Board for approval of the first review.”

The Ministry of Finance encouraged the public and media houses, in particular, to seek the facts and truth about any information that comes to their attention, whenever they are in doubt.

Source: GNA