IMF Board completes 6th and final review of ECF programme, describes PCI as anchor to reform agenda

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The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the sixth and final review of the US$3 billion, 39-month Arrangement under the Economic Credit Facility (ECF) for Ghana, approved by the Board in May 2023.This paved the way for the disbursement of SDR 265.9 million (about US$371 million).The Executive Board also concluded the 2026 Article IV consultation and reviewed —at the authorities’ request—a 36-month non-financing Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI).In a statement, the IMF said it has consented to the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation.It, however, indicated that the authorities have not consented to the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation. “The authorities need more time to consider the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation”.In completing the review, the Executive Board approved a waiver of non-observance of the end-December 2025 performance criteria pertaining to the ceiling on Bank of Ghana (BoG) claims on the central government and public entities that was temporarily breached by a small margin due to cost-sharing arrangements under the domestic gold purchase programme (DGPP). This is based on the temporary nature of deviation and corrective actions carried out by the authorities.According to the Fund, the completion of this review allows for an immediate and final disbursement of about US$371 million (SDR 265.9 million), bringing Ghana’s total disbursements under the arrangement to about US$3 billion.The PCI will help anchor Ghana’s continued reform agenda beyond the ECF, signaling a credible commitment to upper-credit-tranche-quality policies and helping catalyze donor and market financing.ECF Programme Delivers StabilisationThe Fund stated that Ghana’s ECF-supported programme has delivered substantial stabilisation and debt-sustainability gains.“Real GDP [Gross Domestic Product] grew 6.0% in 2025—accelerating to 6.4% year-on-year in 2026 Q1 [quarter one]—driven by broad-based activity. Headline inflation fell to 5.4% at end-2025 and to 5.3% in June 2026, reflecting prudent monetary policy, cedi appreciation, and improved food supply. The current account posted a large surplus of 7.9% of GDP in 2025, supported by historically high gold prices, and gross international reserves nearly doubled to US$11.9 billion (4 months of imports) by end-2025”.It added that the primary fiscal balance improved to a surplus of 2.1% of GDP.“Ghana’s risk of external and overall debt distress has been upgraded to moderate, two years earlier than expected at program approval, as all debt indicators are below their LIC-DSF thresholds”, it concluded.