Josiah
Abebe Aemro Selassie, the Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has confirmed that Ghana has taken the necessary steps to secure long-awaited financing assurance from its external creditors. He further mentioned that the IMF is patiently awaiting responses from bilateral creditors.
During a press conference following the release of the Africa’s Regional Outlook Report at the Annual IMF/World Bank meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco, Mr. Selassie stated, “I have to tell you that whereas it took something like nine months or more for Zambia to get the official creditor committee to be created, in Ghana’s case, it was fairly rapid… Ghana has done its fair share, and it’s for the creditors to take steps.”
He added, “We’re not going to be asking the government to do more adjustment because creditors haven’t asked either. We will provide all the information necessary so creditors can move, allowing us to go to the Board as soon as possible.”
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta had earlier disclosed that Ghana had received assurances from both China and France regarding the Memorandum of Outstanding (MoU) for the restructuring of the country’s external bilateral debts. He noted that there was no reluctance from China to participate positively in the restructuring of external bilateral debts, citing China’s similar cooperation with other countries like Zambia, Sri Lanka, and Suriname.
During the Annual IMF/World Bank meetings in Marrakesh, Mr. Ofori-Atta emphasized the need for bold reforms in the global financial architecture, suggesting that the IMF should strengthen the global financial safety net to better serve the developing world. He commended IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s transformative leadership while advocating for reforms to ensure institutions like the IMF are adequately mandated, financed, and governed to deliver transformative impact.
Source:Omanghana.com
