• Metascholar News Portal
• Continent , Economy , Local News
• April 23, 2025
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• 5 minutes Read

IMF Reports Setbacks in Ghana Programme Amid Pre-2024 Election Challenges Despite Economic Growth

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has acknowledged Ghana’s stronger-than-anticipated economic growth in 2024, largely driven by robust performance in the mining and construction sectors. However, despite these positive developments, the Fund has raised concerns over fiscal slippages and delays in critical reforms, particularly in the lead-up to Ghana’s 2024 general elections. According to a statement released by the IMF following a mission to Accra, the external sector also showed significant improvement during 2024, supported by solid export performance especially in gold, and to a lesser extent, oil as well as an increase in remittances. These factors contributed to a substantial accumulation of international reserves, surpassing targets set under Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF)-supported program. An IMF staff team, led by Mr. Stéphane Roudet, Mission Chief for Ghana, conducted discussions with Ghanaian authorities from April 2 to April 15, 2025, as part of the fourth review of Ghana’s three-year arrangement under the ECF. This program, initially approved by the IMF Executive Board on May 17, 2023, allocated a total of SDR 2.242 billion (approximately US$3 billion) to support Ghana’s economic stabilization and reform efforts amid ongoing fiscal and debt challenges. At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Roudet confirmed that IMF staff and the Government of Ghana had reached a staff-level agreement regarding the fourth review of the economic program. This agreement, however, remains subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. Once approved, Ghana would gain access to an additional SDR 267.5 million (about US$370 million), bringing total disbursements under the program to SDR 1,708 million (approximately US$2.355 billion) since its inception. While commending Ghana for exceeding growth expectations and strengthening its external sector, the IMF expressed concern over a marked deterioration in overall program performance by the end of 2024. Preliminary fiscal data revealed significant slippages, notably due to a large accumulation of unpaid obligations in the months preceding the elections. Inflation also surpassed program targets, and key reforms in fiscal management, the financial sector, and the energy sector experienced delays. In response to these setbacks, Ghana’s new authorities have initiated corrective measures aimed at restoring fiscal discipline and ensuring that the broader objectives of the ECF-supported program remain achievable. Among these measures is a comprehensive audit of outstanding payables to assess the extent of fiscal slippages. Preliminary findings indicate that the primary balance recorded a deficit of approximately 3.25% of GDP, diverging sharply from the targeted surplus of 0.5% of GDP. To address this fiscal gap, the…