Ghana is on the verge of completing its three-year, US$3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), after reaching a staff-level agreement on the sixth and final programme review.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review in Parliament on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said Ghana reached the staff-level agreement with the IMF on 15 May 2026.
He said the IMF Executive Board is expected to approve the final review by the end of July 2026. Once approved, Ghana will receive a final disbursement of SDR265.9 million, equivalent to about US$370 million, bringing total disbursements under the programme to the full US$3 billion committed when the ECF was approved in May 2023.
Dr Forson stated that Ghana met all but one of the quantitative performance criteria required for the final review.
According to him, the country achieved the floor on the Bank of Ghana’s net international reserves, complied with the ceiling on the present value of newly contracted or guaranteed external debt by the central government and public entities, and met the target for the primary fiscal balance on a commitment basis.
He added that the government also met the ceiling on the non-accumulation of external debt payment arrears by both the central government and the Bank of Ghana, as well as the ceiling on newly contracted collateralised debt by the government and public entities.
The Finance Minister explained that the only quantitative performance criterion that was not achieved related to the ceiling on changes in the Bank of Ghana’s claims on the central government and public entities. He attributed the shortfall to the accounting treatment of the government’s recapitalisation bond issued to the central bank.
Dr Forson further announced that Ghana met all the programme’s indicative targets.
These included the minimum target for non-oil public revenue, the floor on social spending, the ceiling on changes in the stock of government payables and obligations to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and the ceiling on contracted but undisbursed external bilateral project loans signed before the Official Creditor Committee cut-off date.
He also told Parliament that almost every structural benchmark under the IMF-supported programme had been achieved, underscoring the government’s commitment to implementing the agreed reforms.
The completion of the programme is expected to strengthen investor confidence, reinforce macroeconomic stability and support Ghana’s ongoing economic recovery efforts.
