Ghana is well positioned to exit the International Monetary Fund’s US$3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program when it ends in May 2026, says, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor.
Governor Asiama said the country has started running ahead of program targets on virtually all indicators, demonstrating a strong economic turnaround from the challenges experienced in the past few years.
He said this at the Governor Talks Series on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF/World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington D.C, USA, on the topic: “From crisis to confidence: Ghana’s journey to macroeconomic stabilisation.”
“We are happy to announce that we will be able to exit the fund program come next year,” said, Dr Asiama, who noted uncertainties about the program’s continuation earlier in the year.
He attributed this to the challenges in the economy, characterised by the aftermath of the 2022 domestic debt exchange program (DDEP), highly expansionary fiscal policy, exit from international financial markets, multiple sovereign downgrades, high liquidity, elevated inflation and a rapidly depreciating exchange rate.
However, he said the government went ahead with the program and structural reforms, had since turned things around, achieving “remarkable stabilisation” in the last eight months.
He stated that Ghana was exceeding expectations on the program targets – inflation has declined from nearly 24 per cent when he took office to 9.4 per cent currently, reserves accumulation of 4.5 months and upgrades from various rating agencies.
“Ghana is back; we are running ahead of program targets for the year on almost everything – inflation, reserves build-up, economic growth,” Governor Asiama said, and gave assurance, saying, “we will not compromise, even as we ease downward.”
He, however, cautioned that challenges remained for the country, largely due to exposure to external risks from volatile commodity prices, requiring sustained sound macroeconomic policies and adequate reserves as buffers against potential headwinds.
“We want to build more reserves because as you know, we are still a commodity exporting country. The risks remain,” he stated, urging coordinated stabilisation efforts across multiple fronts, including complementary efforts from fiscal authorities.
“We needed the complementary efforts from the fiscal authorities. So, we had to engage the fiscal authorities at the same time,” he explained, noting that food price management and fiscal discipline were critical components of the disinflation strategy.
The three-year ECF arrangement was approved by the IMF Executive Board in May 2023 for a total amount of SDR 2.242 billion (approximately US$3 billion), spanning three years, and aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, ensuring debt sustainability and fostering long-lasting and inclusive growth.
The governor expressed gratitude to the IMF for its support throughout Ghana’s stabilisation journey, describing the partnership as crucial to the program’s success.
While acknowledging the efficacy of IMF loan-supported programs, the World bank has encouraged the country to be intentional and bold about breaking away from its repeated reliance to meet its sustainable macroeconomic stability needs.
In the Bank’s latest Policy Notes on the country, released in September, the World Bank underscored an urgent need for reform, saying, “Ghana must break from past governance failures marked by fiscal indiscipline, inefficiency, and repeated IMF programs.”
