Ghana is optimistic of concluding talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek the fund’s support in March.
This is because the issue of the domestic debt exchange program, one of the conditions, has been “virtually completed”, paving the way for the country to fully recover.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave this assurance when he held discussions with the German Federal Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, last Friday at Jubilee House in Accra.
He said the government’s main concerns include the process of concluding negotiations with the IMF, as well as special aid that will help Ghana speed up the economic recovery process.
“We have taken an important step to complete the staff level agreement with the IMF. One of the steps is the domestic debt exchange program which has encountered many difficulties; but now it is almost finished.
“Now we are going to go full hog and complete the agreement. We hope to complete it by mid-March,” said President Akufo-Addo.
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The German Finance Minister is in Ghana for bilateral talks with the government and the business community and also to assure Ghana of Germany’s support to help Ghana emerge from the current economic challenges.
He was accompanied by an entourage consisting of technocrats and Members of Parliament of Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag.
Lindner said the delegation is in the country because despite seeing economic challenges in Ghana, they believe it can be turned into an opportunity for bilateral trade.
He said he has had a good and constructive exchange with his Ghanaian counterpart, Ken Ofori-Atta, on the current situation and how Germany can help to overcome the current situation.
After months of speculation, Ghana, on July 1, 2022, announced that it was going to the IMF to ask for support.
Subsequently, the government, in December 2022, reached a staff-level agreement with the fund as part of the process that led to the bailout.
President Akufo-Addo welcomed Germany’s pledge to help the country overcome its current economic challenges and called on the German government to provide support in that direction.
He explained that one important consideration was the financial stability fund that Ghana had promised, which was one of the main results of the negotiations, and said that the voice of the German government was needed to try to create it.
He was happy that Germany was willing to help in that regard.
“We rely on Germany, as one of our privileged partners, not only in Europe but in the whole world. I am happy to hear the statement of the willingness to do what it can to help us in difficult economic conditions,” said the President.
Security
President Akufo-Addo also praised Germany for providing military aid to West Africa to tackle the Jihadist insurgency, a move he described as “very concrete and acceptable”.
“We must find a way to stop the insurgency in West Africa. Otherwise, all the other things that we want to do to develop the society and the economy will be very difficult. It generates a lot of resources that are almost impossible to buy and are now diverted to security, support and initiatives, “he said.
He said the increasing activities of the rebels are disturbing the entire region, with Ghana immediately in the line of fire as Burkina Faso is its northern neighbour.
The president said in the past six weeks, more than 4,000 people from Burkina Faso had taken refuge in Ghana, saying that was where the number of refugees could be officially counted, and many more were unaccounted for.
Ghana needs help
Mr. Lindner reiterated the call he had made earlier for the international credit committee to help Ghana.
Earlier, in a press conference together with Mr. Ofori-Atta, Mr. Lindner has, said he has also met Ghanaian business leaders and managers of financial institutions how “Germany can help Ghana to overcome the current situation”.
He advocated the formation of an international credit committee within a general framework to help Ghana restructure its debt.
“For Germany, it is important to see the sharing of the burden equally among all creditors. We need a committee of creditors as soon as possible. I want to call all creditors to unite their efforts as soon as possible,” he said, and warned. China, Ghana’s largest bilateral trading partner, is responsible as an important bilateral creditor for participating in the program.
“We need to find a new approach to the debt of low-income countries and a common framework is part of this solution and Germany is willing to play a role,” he said.
The German Minister of Finance said that although Ghana is facing economic challenges, Germany is optimistic that it can be turned into an opportunity for bilateral trade and growth and thus stressed that Ghana should be supported.
“Now we have a relationship with the Paris Club, a general framework. We are looking, very quickly, for a committee to be established, so we will have a body that can be established quickly to carry out these discussions,” he said.
Lindner further pointed out that the stability and security of the West African region is important for security in Europe, and Germany will provide support to keep the sub-region stable and secure.
Source: graphiconline.com
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