$600m Second Tranche: IMF Executive Board to deliberate approval this month, says Finance Minister

Finance Chief Ken Ofori-Atta has noted that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is slated to deliberate on the approval of the $600m second tranche of the $3bn Extended Credit Facility in the third week of November.

The anticipated deliberation for the approval of the second tranche by the IMF Executive Board, comes on the back of government’s optimism on soon reaching an agreement with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) and the Paris Club.

Making the disclosure at the inaugural Ghana Mutual Prosperity Dialogues (GMPD) in Accra on November 2, 2023, the Finance Minister underscored the critical nature of the period leading up to the end of the year in Ghana’s pursuit of economic stability.

“This period between now and the year-end are critical. We do have the budget on November 15 [2023], the IMF Board meeting on November 22 and in between, we are also negotiating with the Independent Power Producers to get stability in our energy sector and we are hopeful that this would be done by the end of November.

“We have also initiated discussions with our Eurobond investors and gave them broad contours for what we would like to see and they have also brought us some illustrative scenarios to consider. I believe that by year-end, we should be able to conclude on those and therefore set 2024 to work on the issues of the private sector to ensure the economy continues to strengthen,” the Minister stated.

Mr. Ofori-Atta speaking further at the event, emphasized the objectives of the Ghana Mutual Prosperity Dialogues (GMPD), which seek to recalibrate the government’s approach to collaboration with the private sector, both domestic and foreign, development partners, labor, and government itself.

He noted that the initiative aims to enhance the business environment, attract foreign direct investment (FDI), and bolster Ghana’s competitiveness. By fostering closer collaboration between the public and private sectors, the GMPD aims to unlock investment opportunities and promote economic growth in the country.

The GMPD is under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, which leads the FDI dialogue in Ghana, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) providing facilitation and technical assistance to the government.

Source:norvanreports