The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed optimism regarding Ghana's ongoing negotiations with the Official Credit Committee (OCC) over its external debt restructuring. Julie Kozack, IMF's Director of Communications, addressed this issue at a recent press conference in Washington DC, noting that the Ghanaian government has already finalized restructuring of its domestic debt.
"The next steps on debt restructuring are for the OCC to agree with the authorities on the specific modalities of debt relief and for the authorities to continue to engage with their external private creditors for relief on their external debt," Kozack said. She added that these discussions are ongoing and expressed hope that an agreement would be reached soon.
Ghana is seeking some form of debt forgiveness from its external creditors in an effort to bring its $52.3 billion external debt down to sustainable levels. A significant portion of this debt is owed to these external creditors.
Last week, an IMF mission staff arrived in Ghana to conduct the first major assessment of the country's $3 billion bailout program. The government was represented by officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana during what sources close to Citi Business News described as "constructive and productive" discussions with the visiting staff.
The review revealed that Ghana has displayed commendable resilience in its economic performance and policies. The country has been making steady progress, particularly in relation to the first review of the extended credit facility. The IMF-supported program in Ghana remains focused on restoring macroeconomic stability and achieving debt sustainability.
In order to ensure fiscal consolidation, Ghana is tasked with strengthening revenue collection and reducing public expenditure. Should it be successful in this review, the country stands a high chance of securing the next tranche of $600 million from the bailout program. This decision will be pending the IMF board's review in November.
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