The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that Ghana’s external sector performance has significantly outpaced expectations, with international reserves far exceeding targets set under the country’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program.
This development follows the IMF Executive Board’s completion of the fourth review of Ghana’s US$3 billion, 36-month ECF arrangement, originally approved in May 2023. The latest review clears the way for an immediate disbursement of approximately US$367 million, bringing Ghana’s total receipts under the program to about US$2.3 billion.
According to the IMF, Ghana’s economic activity showed surprising resilience in 2024 and early 2025. Growth across key sectors, including mining, agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, and construction, was stronger than projected. Meanwhile, external inflows received a major boost from robust gold exports, rising oil earnings, and increased remittance flows from the diaspora.
“As a result, the accumulation of international reserves has far exceeded the ECF-supported program targets,” the IMF stated.
As of April 2025, Ghana’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) stood at US$10.7 billion, up from US$9.0 billion at the end of December 2024. This level of reserves now provides cover for approximately 4.7 months of imports of goods and services, compared to 4 months at the end of the previous year.
The build-up is even more notable on a program-adjusted basis. Ghana’s Net International Reserves (NIR), a key benchmark under the IMF program, saw an increase of US$1.5 billion to reach US$3.4 billion in April 2025, surpassing the end-June 2025 program target of US$493 million by a wide margin.
President John Dramani Mahama on July 7 revealed the scale of Ghana’s recovery, noting that the country now holds enough reserves to cover about six months of imports, well above the typical minimum threshold of three months.
The surge in reserves comes at a crucial time, reinforcing Ghana’s macroeconomic buffers amid ongoing structural reforms. While praising the gains, the IMF also underscored the importance of sustaining reforms, strengthening fiscal discipline, and maintaining momentum in debt restructuring and governance improvements.
The next phase of Ghana’s recovery, the Fund noted, hinges on continued commitment to policy discipline and broad-based structural transformation, especially in public financial management, energy sector reform, and revenue mobilization.
Source: thehighstreetjournal
