IMF Board completes sixth and final review of Ghana $3b loan facility, approves $371m
The IMF Executive Board Monday July 27, 2026 completed the sixth and final review of Ghana’s 39-month loan programme under its Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and reviewed the request of a 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI).
The completion of the review allows for a final disbursement of SDR 265.9 million, which is about $371 million, the IMF said in a statement.
This final disbursement completes the total loan facility of $3 billion approved for Ghana in 2023.
According to the IMF, Ghana’s performance under the programme has been broadly satisfactory. The IMF stated that since its approval, Ghana has made substantial gains in macroeconomic stabilization and debt sustainability, with inflation falling sharply, (inflation is currently around 5.3%), reserves nearly doubling by 2025, the primary fiscal balance swinging to a surplus, and the risk of debt distress returning to moderate.
The Bretton Woods institution also noted the sustained implementation of the reform agenda under the new PCI will be essential to entrench macroeconomic stability and support inclusive, private sector-led growth, while creating space to address Ghana’s development needs consistent with debt sustainability.
The statement indicated that 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 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, based on the temporary nature of deviation and corrective actions carried out by the authorities.
“Completion of this review allows for an immediate and final disbursement of about $371 million, bringing Ghana’s total disbursements under the arrangement to about $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,” it said.
The IMF Board on May 17, 2023 approved the $3 billion loan for Ghana. Following the approval, the IMF disbursed $600 million immediately.
The IMF at the time of the loan approval, stated that large external shocks had exacerbated Ghana’s pre-existing fiscal and debt vulnerabilities, resulting in a loss of international market access, increasingly constrained domestic financing, and reliance on monetary financing of the government.
“Decreasing international reserves, cedi depreciation, rising inflation and plummeting domestic investor confidence, eventually triggered an acute crisis. The authorities have taken bold steps to tackle these deep challenges, including by accelerating fiscal adjustment. The government has also launched a comprehensive debt restructuring to address severe financing constraints and the unsustainable public debt. Securing timely debt restructuring agreements with external creditors will be essential for the successful implementation of the new ECF arrangement,” it added.
The expectation on Ghana was to implement key policies under the programme, which included large and frontloaded fiscal consolidation to bring public finances back on a sustainable path, complemented by efforts to protect the vulnerable.
The adjustment effort will be supported by ambitious structural reforms in the areas of tax policy, revenue administration, and public financial management, as well as steps to address weaknesses in the energy and cocoa sectors, the IMF said at that time.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi