By Enyichukwu Enemanna
As economic hardship persists in the gold and cocoa rich Ghana, the West African has concluded plans to hold formal talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a support package, the Government said on Friday.
Hundreds had earlier in the week taken to the streets protesting mounting hardship.
The cabinet gave its support for the decision at a meeting on Thursday, following a phone conversation between President Nana Akufo-Addo and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
Ghana, an oil producing country has until now refused to seek IMF support to rescue an economy crippled by the pandemic, rampant inflation and a depreciating currency, despite analysts warning it is close to a debt crisis..
The IMF confirmed Ghana’s request for help and said it would start discussions with authorities in the coming weeks.
“The IMF stands ready to assist Ghana to restore macroeconomics stability; safeguard debt sustainability; promote inclusive and sustainable growth; and address the impact of the war in Ukraine and the lingering pandemic,” an IMF spokesperson told Reuters.
Central bank governor Ernest Addison said in May that Ghana faced an overall balance of payments deficit of $934.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $429.9 million in the same period last year.
Analysts said the decision should help Ghana deal with its challenges.
“We have long waited for this to happen because we could tell it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon,” said William Duncan, founder of the Ghana-based Spear Capital & Advisory.
