According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), some of the fund’s program targets with Ghana may need to be revised due to the cedi’s significant increase in value relative to the US dollar in the first half of 2025.
Future program reviews will give the team a chance to thoroughly evaluate all of the changing macroeconomic and financial circumstances, the IMF stated.
Julie Kozack, the IMF’s Director of Communications, revealed this at a press conference in Washington, DC, USA, in response to a query from JOYBUSINESS.
“As we look at the programme, we look at all of these developments, including, of course, developments in the exchange rate”, she mentioned.
To ensure that the program’s goals and objectives are still relevant and attainable, she continued, the reviews will take exchange rate fluctuations into account.
Targets of the IMF Program
Restoring macroeconomic stability, guaranteeing debt sustainability, and establishing the groundwork for faster and more equitable growth are the three main goals of Ghana’s economic program, which is backed by the External Credit Facility arrangement.
Among them is bringing Ghana’s debt down to manageable levels by 2028. Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio must therefore drop to 55% by the end of 2028.
Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio dropped significantly to 55% as of April 2025, according to the Bank of Ghana’s most recent data.
This is a result of the cedi’s notable increase in value relative to the US dollar this year. Since the start of 2025, the cedi has gained over 40% in value relative to the US dollar, according to data from commercial banks. The cedi is currently trading at GH¢10.26 to the dollar, according to data from the Bank of Ghana.
During a recent visit to the African Development Bank in Ivory Coast, President John Mahama disclosed that the cedi’s increase in value relative to the US dollar has resulted in a GH¢150 billion reduction in Ghana’s total debt stock.
In a different interview, the president revealed that the cedi’s actual value against the dollar is between GH¢10 and GH¢12.
Ghana has also achieved the IMF’s goal for the nation’s foreign reserves. As of April 2025, Ghana’s foreign reserves were worth GH¢10.6 billion. This amounts to 4.7 months of import coverage, which is significantly more than the IMF’s pre-program target.
Additionally, Ghana has reached the IMF’s goal for the nation’s foreign reserves. By the end of April 2025, Ghana had GH¢10.6 billion in foreign reserves.
This amounts to import coverage for 4.7 months, which is significantly more than the IMF’s pre-program target.
Meeting Of The IMF Board on Ghana’s Program
The IMF Executive Board is scheduled to convene during the first week of July 2025, Madam Kozack added.
According to her, “Ghana would be scheduled to receive about U.S. $370 million upon approval by the Executive Board, bringing total support under the External Credit Facility to $2.4 billion since May of 2023.”
President John recently declared that when the IMF program ends in May 2026, Ghana will not renew it.
Ghana|Atinkaonline.com|Najat Adamu