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| A Google Map with Ghana in its centre |
Washington/Accra: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the sixth and seventh reviews of Ghana’s performance under the program supported by the Extended Credit facility (ECF). In completing the reviews, the Executive Board approved waivers for nonobservance of three performance criteria: the net change in domestic arrears for end-December 2011, the fiscal balance target for end-March 2012, and the floor on net international reserves for end-March 2012.
The Executive Board’s decision will allow for the final disbursement of an amount equivalent to SDR 119.14 million (about US$178.74 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to an amount equivalent to SDR 387.45 million (about US$581.28 million).
The Board has also approved the government’s request of an extension of the program by about two weeks until July 31, 2012 for making the final disbursement.
Notably, Ghana’s current three-year ECF arrangement was approved on July 15, 2009.
Following the Executive Board’s decision on Ghana, Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, said, “Ghana’s economic performance was strong last year and medium-term growth prospects remain favorable, but short-term risks to macroeconomic stability have risen. A rapid depreciation of the cedi is fuelling inflation and reserve cover has fallen below comfortable levels. Furthermore, spending overruns at the end of 2011, large public wage increases, and reemergence of energy subsidies have created the need for corrective actions to achieve fiscal targets.”
Shinohara added, “The authorities should sustain their efforts to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework and improve supervisory capacity. It will also be important to continue to address long-standing deficiencies in Ghana’s AML/CFT regime.”