IMF: Ghana has fulfilled obligations, awaiting creditor action on debt restructuring

Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has announced that Ghana has completed the necessary procedures to acquire the long-awaited financial assurance from its foreign creditors.

He went on to say that the IMF is waiting patiently for responses from bilateral creditors.

"I have to tell you that, whereas Zambia took nine months or more to form the official creditor committee, Ghana's process was quite quick..."Ghana has done its fair share, and it is now up to the creditors to take action," Mr. Selassie remarked after the publishing of Africa's Regional Outlook Report during the Annual IMF/World Bank meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco.

"We're not going to ask the government to do more adjustment because creditors haven't asked either," he continued. We will supply the essential information so creditors can move and we can go to the Board as soon as feasible."

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta previously stated that Ghana had received assurances on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the restructuring of the country's external bilateral loans from both China and France.

"We have met the Central Bank Governor of China and we don't perceive any opposition or reluctance in participating positively when it comes to the Memorandum of Understanding on restructuring of our external bilateral debts" said the minister of finance.

Responding to journalists' questions at the Annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco, Mr Ofori-Atta said, "The Chinese government has been close to reaching a similar agreement with Zambia, Sri Lanka, and Suriname in recent months, so we expect some similar cooperation from them when it comes to Ghana."

In an earlier interview, Mr Ofori-Atta hailed the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings as a chance for a new beginning for the global financial architecture.

Mr Ofori-Atta, speaking at a Roundtable Discussion on "IMF Policy Priorities," charged the IMF with strengthening the global financial safety net through significant reforms to the global financial architecture.

During the Roundtable hosted by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Mr Ofori-Atta lauded IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for her revolutionary leadership, which has resulted in genuinely historic achievements.

"We need to stretch the IMF to do more," he concluded. The demand is enormous. And, at these Annual Meetings, the developing world asks the international community to do all possible to pursue a reform agenda that assures institutions like the IMF have the mandates, financing, and governance models needed to deliver transformative impact."