IMF deal would reflect in growth of the economy by close of year – Majority Leader

Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has projected that Ghana’s concluded deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would reflect in the country’s economic growth by the end of 2023.

Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu acknowledged that Ghana’s economy hit rock bottom due to COVID-19 and the economic impacts of the Russian-Ukraine war on the global economy.

However, the legislator is optimistic that Ghana’s approved deal with the IMF would ensure economic growth by the end of the year.

“We all know where we are, COVID and as I said, the Russian-Ukraine war, so yes, we went down, but the good thing is that we are climbing up. If you look at the performance of GDP in 2021 and 2022, you would see that we are climbing up gradually.

…One hopes that with the discussions with the IMF being concluded now, by the close of the year, it would reflect in the growth of the economy and into 2024, it would be better ”

The Member of Parliament for Suame constituency made these assertions in an interview with GhanaWeb’s Etsey Atisu ahead of the Ghana-IMF press conference.

On May 17, 2023, the IMF Executive Board approved SDR 2.242 billion, about US$3 billion, a 36-month ECF arrangement for Ghana. This decision will enable an immediate disbursement equivalent to SDR 451.4 million, about US$600 million.

Ghana’s economic program, supported by the ECF arrangement, builds on the government’s Post-COVID-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), which aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.