West African country, Ghana on Tuesday agreed on a $3 billion credit deal with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, the multilateral lender has confirmed as the country battles its worst economic crisis in decades.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that the International Monetary Fund, IMF has a few weeks ago dispatched a team to Ghana this week to start negotiations on a potential loan package for Ghana.
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President Nana Akufo-Addo of the country earlier rejected requests for financial assistance from the IMF, but last week he approved the action as the nation battles skyrocketing inflation.
‘On the basis of a request from the Ghanaian authorities, an IMF staff team will in the coming days kick-start discussions on a possible program to support Ghana’s homegrown economic policies,’ Carlo Sdralevich, IMF mission chief for Ghana, disclosed in a statement.
‘We are at an early stage in the process, given that detailed discussions are yet to take place,’ Sdralevich said.
He will lead the International Monetary Fund staff team visit to Accra July 6-13.
The announcement followed two days of protests in the capital over the rising cost of food and fuel, after the country was hit with inflation of more than 27 percent in May — the highest in almost two decades.
Africa Today News, New York reports that brawls have erupted in the hung parliament as the government tries to push tough policies it believes could salvage the economy.
Meanwhile, data from Ghana’s central bank indicates the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 80.1 percent at the end of last year, and fuel prices have shot up as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.