IMF approves 116 mln USD for Ghana
Xinhua, September 30, 2016 Adjust font size:
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved of the third review of Ghana's performance under the three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program, a release said here on Thursday.
With the approval on Wednesday, the IMF has approved the disbursement of some 116 million U.S. dollars to the West African nation.
Ghana and the IMF entered into an ECF in April 2015, granting Ghana about 918 million dollars over a three-year period, based on some conditionalities, mostly on fiscal discipline.
The country has already drawn down three disbursements -- 114.8 million dollars in April 2015, 116.6 million in August 2015, and 114.6 million in January 2016.
"The approval is a further confirmation of the economic turnaround story," Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, said Thursday, adding that the government would continue with its efforts at fiscal consolidation
"In this vein, government will continue to contain expenditures whilst mobilizing domestic revenue," said the minister.
The government had earlier this month issued a 750 million dollars Eurobond, which was over-subscribed to the tune of 4.0 billion dollars.
The country's cocoa sector regulator, Cocoa Board, also secured a 1.98 billion dollar facility for cocoa purchases in the 2016/2017 crop year. Endit