Release of $360M by IMF Imminent After MoU with Official Creditors

Ghana is looking forward to the release of the third tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility after reaching an agreement with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) on debt treatment.

The Ministry of Finance announced the successful agreement with the Committee chaired by France and China in a press statement released Tuesday, June 12, 2024.

“The Government of the Republic of Ghana is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) regarding the debt treatment agreed upon in January 2024.”

The agreed terms will be implemented through bilateral agreements with each OCC member after each member follows its internal procedures to sign the MoU, it explained.

According to the Ministry, the MoU formalises the agreement in principle reached with Official Creditors in January and marks a crucial step towards Ghana restoring long-term debt sustainability.

“The financial terms of the agreement remain unchanged and it provides significant debt service relief during the Fund-supported program period, allowing financial resources to be directed towards critical areas such as infrastructure, healthcare and education,” it stated.

Essence
The agreement, the Ministry said, would pave the way for the approval by the IMF Executive Board of the second review of the Fund-supported Post Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) and make way for the release of the next tranche.

Also, the Ministry anticipates the approval by the IMF Board would trigger more financial assistance from our development partners, particularly the World Bank and also bolster ongoing discussions with private creditors.

The third tranche of $360 million will bring the total disbursement to US$1.56 billion.