Ghana’s IMF quota to jump to SDR 1.1bn on 50% quota increment proposal by Executive Board

Ghana’s subscription quota to the IMF is expected to rise from the current SDR 738m ($560m) to SDR 1.1bn ($841m) on the proposed 50% quota increment by the IMF Executive Board.

Effectively what this means is that, should the IMF Executive Board approve of the proposed quota increment on December 15, 2023, Ghana would have to make a payment of SDR 369m ($280m) in quota subscription to the IMF.

A member’s initial quota subscription effective date reflects the date the member joined the IMF. The initial quota must be paid within six months of IMF membership.

Subsequent increases in quota subscription become effective upon the member’s consent and payment to the IMF of such increases.

The last time Ghana increased its quota to the IMF was in 2016 when it increased it from SDR 369m in February 1999 to the current SDR 738m. Ghana’s initial quota subscription was in 1957 which stood at SDR 15,000.

Ghana’s current quota forms 0.15% of the IMF’s total allocated quotas to member countries.

In terms of votes, the country’s quota amounts to 8,839 votes which represents 0.18% of the total number of votes by member countries.

According to the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, the quota increase would help safeguard global financial stability by enhancing the IMF’s permanent resources and reducing reliance on borrowed resources.

The proposal envisages that once quota increases are in effect, borrowed resources comprising the Bilateral Borrowing Agreements and New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) would be reduced to maintain the Fund’s current lending capacity.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s outstanding SDR loans to the IMF amount to 1.67bn as at end-September 2023.