- Colleague Hon. Minister(s)
- Hon. Deputy Minister
- The IMF Mission Chief, Stephane Roudet and the IMF Team
- Management and Staff of the Ministry of Finance
- Management and Statt of the Bank of Ghana
- Distinguished media persons present
- Invited Guests
- Ladies and Gentlemen
You are warmly welcome to the joint GOG-IMF press briefing on the 4th Review of the IMF-ECF Programme conducted by the IMF staff, led by Mission Chief, Stephane Roudet.
The IMF mission which began on the 2nd of April 2025 has been successfully concluded today, 15th of April 2025.
Ladies and gentlemen, it has been two (2) weeks of hard work and commitment. What rather started like the most difficulty review of the programme has ended successfully with the IMF and Government of Ghana reaching a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) on the 4th Review today.
This marks a significant journey in our collective effort towards resetting the economy for the Ghana We Want in quest to restore and sustain macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, build resilience through strong and ambitious structural reforms, and lay the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth and job creation, while protecting the poor and the vulnerable.
We remain fully committed to the implementation of the programme and will do all it takes to ensure that the objectives of the programme are on track despite the challenges we have faced in programme implementation.
Although there were a number of structural benchmarks and quantitative targets under the programme that were breached at the time we took office.
We have worked tirelessly to reverse the situation and, in some cases, fast-tracked the implementation of some structural reforms ahead of their deadlines and embarked on additional reforms.
To begin with, pragmatic and bold measures have been put in place to address the large payable build-up in 2024 which resulted in large primary deficit compared to programmed modest surplus.
These measures are aimed at strengthening our spending commitment control system, eliminate the accumulation of payables, enhance budget credibility and promote fiscal and debt sustainability.
These measures include:
- We have commissioned the Auditor General together with two (2) international Audit firms to audit the payables and commitments to validate their legitimacy and values and provide recommendations for corrective measures. The audit is expected to be completed in eight weeks;
- We have passed an amendment to the Procurement Act to ensure that the issuance of commitment authorisation (e.g. commencement certificate) by the Minister for Finance shall be a prerequisite for all central government procurement that comes under the Authority or the Central Tender Review Committee;
- We have amended the PFM Act 2016 (Act 921) to introduce a debt rule to reduce debt to GDP ratio to 45% by 2035, and an operational rule to post an annual primary surplus on commitment basis of at least 1.5% of GDP. The amendment also legislates the establishment of an independent fiscal council to monitor the adherence to the fiscal rules;
- We have commenced the operationalization of the Compliance Desk at the Ministry of Finance to monitor MDA’s compliance with their fiscal commitments under the PFM Act.
- We will soon begin the publication of a PFM Commitment Control Compliance League Table which will show MDA rankings based on the level of compliance and non-compliance with the PFM commitment controls and expenditure monitoring measures.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have also remedied and implemented a number of structural reforms which were expected to be completed by end Dec 2024 and end Mar 2025 including the following:
- We migrated 549 MDAs and MMDAs spending units accounts into the GIFMIS;
- The PURC has published on its website the validation report of ECG revenue/collection accounts audit for 2023 Q4 and the full 2024, even though the structural benchmark conditionality was for 2024 H1; and
- The implementation of the recently announced quarterly tariff adjustments by PURC was executed to satisfy the Structural Benchmark conditionality under the programme.
Ladies and gentlemen, I must acknowledge that the energy sector fiscal risks is still a challenge, but we have put in place measures to reduce or eventually eliminate the energy sector shortfall.
We have now operationalised the single account mechanism and ensured that the Cash Waterfall Mechanism is being implemented according to guidelines to guarantee minimum contractual payments to the IPPs, among others.
I want to use this opportunity to assure the Ghanaian people, the IMF and other key stakeholders that I will personally lead the charge to ensure that we implement all our commitments under the Fund-supported programme necessary to enable the approval of the 4th Review by the IMF Board.
This approval will trigger the immediate disbursement of the 5th Tranche of US$370mn bringing the total disbursements under the programme to US$2.3 billion
Ladies and gentlemen, reaching a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) on the 4th Review marks a great progress towards building the Ghana we want.
On behalf of H.E. President John Mahama, I wish to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the people of Ghana for their patience, resilience, and unwavering support.
We fully recognise the sacrifices made by every Ghanaian as we work together to restore macroeconomic stability, promote inclusive growth, and secure a brighter future for our nation.
We are equally grateful to the IMF Mission Team for their continued support, professionalism, and constructive engagement throughout this 4th review mission.
We look forward to continuing this strong partnership as we advance our economic recovery and reform agenda.
Thank you for your attention.
God bless our homeland Ghana.