IMF Pushes For Debt Cancellation For Ghana And Other Distressed Countries

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is working towards a debt cancellation programme for Ghana and other countries amid a global economic recession scare this year.

The other countries are Ethiopia, Zambia, Chad, Lebanon, Surinam, and Sri Lanka.

The move, Madam Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, said was to avert any “bad surprise” on the global economy, out of which 25 percent had its trade in emerging markets territories.

“We’re working hard to press for debt resolution for these countries, and we’ve engaged with the traditional creditors, the Paris Club, the non-traditional creditors, China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Our call is very simple: Urgently we have to act,” she said in an interview.

Ghana has reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with the IMF, and currently doing a domestic debt restructuring programme and engaging its external creditors, pending approval by IMF Management and the Executive Board.

The SLA is for a three-year programme supported by an arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of about $3 billion by the IMF.

It is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, preserving financial stability and laying the foundation for strong and inclusive economic recovery.

On recession, the IMF Managing Director, said: “We expect one-third of the global economies to be in recession. Even countries that are not in recession, it would feel like a recession.”

She emphasised the need to act quickly and said: “For most of the world economy, this is going to be a tough year, tougher than the year we leave behind,
[therefore], we have to be concerned.”