Ghana hopes to take a big step towards restructuring its $58 billion-worth of debt this week, with its bilateral creditors meeting on Tuesday, April 11, 20223, to discuss whether to provide enough relief to unlock a $3 billion IMF bailout.
Ghana owes $5.5 billion to foreign governments and their state banks. Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister, said he had “hope” those bilateral creditors would consent to enough debt relief to enable the country to tap an IMF loan package agreed last year.
“We hope on April 11 [2023] the Paris Club will meet with China present to provide financing assurances to the IMF,” he told the Financial Times. “This will be the defining input that [the IMF] will require to then go to their board.”
Commitments from bilateral creditors to provide debt relief are often the first step to unlocking an IMF-backed restructuring programme. The French Treasury, which hosts the Paris Club of bilateral creditors, said the group was “doing everything” to reach an agreement on the commitments required.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
