Negotiations between the Ghanaian government and the IMF have formally began on a multi-year loan that Ghana’s government has said its economy needs to emerge from market-driven shocks.
Negotiations between the Ghanaian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have formally began on a multi-year loan that Ghana’s government has said its economy needs to emerge from market-driven shocks.
The negotiations mark the last stages of talks to finalize the terms of a loan package to the Ghanaian state.
Last July, Ghana’s President John Mahama said that Ghana needed the IMF loan to ensure that the government’s development programs continue unhindered, even during the economic turbulence Ghana was experiencing.
The declining Ghanaian cedi, increase in prices of utilities and increases in the cost of living led to large protests in July across several cities in the country.
Various Ghanaian government officials have also previously stressed that Ghana’s economy would need an IMF loan to prop up the Ghanaian cedi, which lost up to 30 percent of its value against the US dollar in the first half of this year alone.
Earlier today, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde indicated that she was optimistic about Ghana’s economic outlook.
“Ghana is facing a challenging situation and we are going to continue the bailout discussions with the Ghanaian authorities to see what will on the fiscal and monetary point of view be the best policy mix option for the country,” she said at a press conference.