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Ghana Meets Most IMF Targets as Reforms Advance, Says Lender

Ghana Meets Most IMF Targets as Reforms Advance, Says Lender

(Bloomberg) -- Ghana met most of the targets under its program with the International Monetary Fund and is continuing to advance reforms that will promote economic stability, according to the lender.

The West African nation is exiting the almost $1 billion program it agreed to with the IMF in 2015, when years of overspending and a currency crisis prompted its debt obligations to soar. The introduction of spending limits and a clean-up of the banking industry have since helped to spur economic growth while inflation eased to a record low.

“Six out of nine performance criteria were met by the end of December and structural reforms are advancing,” Annalisa Fedelino, the IMF’s mission chief for Ghana, told reporters Thursday in the capital, Accra. “The success of the program is ultimately the commitment of the Ghanaian authorities to continue on the path of adjustment and reform.”

Key Insights:

  • Ghana’s lenders are well capitalized and positioned to support growth.
  • The country has to continue to improve revenue collection and rationalize tax exemptions.
  • Authorities will establish a supervisory body to monitor fiscal risks posed by state-owned enterprises.
  • Monetary policy should remain prudent to complement fiscal-adjustment efforts and to keep inflation in check.
  • IMF will conclude the program’s final reviews by the end of next month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ekow Dontoh in Accra at edontoh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Ana Monteiro

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