Agreement with official creditor committee will bolster economy – Alex Ampaabeng

Deputy Finance Minister Dr Alex Ampaabeng has stated that Ghana’s successful negotiation of a landmark agreement with its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) will aid in the formulation of policies to strengthen the economy.

The government has successfully reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) regarding the debt treatment agreed upon in January 2024.

The OCC of Ghana, jointly led by China and France, was instrumental in this accomplishment.

The MoU solidifies the agreement in principle reached with Official Creditors in January, marking a significant stride towards reestablishing Ghana’s long-term debt sustainability.

In an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Face to Face, the Deputy Finance Minister underscored the numerous advantages this agreement offers to the Ghanaian economy.

He clarified that the debt expenditure, which was expected to occur in 2024 during the International Monetary Fund programme, has been deferred.

He pointed out that this money would have been allocated to debt servicing if not for the agreement, characterising it as having a substantial impact on the economy.

“One thing the minister [Dr Mohammed Amin Adam] puts out as part of the press conference, is that at least it gives a significant flow relief to the country. And what that means is that the expenditure on the debt which should have occurred this year, has been postponed, throughout the life period of the IMF programme. And this has a significant impact.

He emphasised “Remember, this money would have been put to debt servicing. Is that relief, if you would like to call it. We shouldn’t discount the impact of not having this relief in the first place. We have challenges within healthcare, education, infrastructure and having that relief to be able to meet some of those critical provisions I think is very important.”

“To me, I think it’s really positive because it’s the time when we’re trying to meet our deficit in terms of what we have to do in education and healthcare. Remember this is budgetary support…We’re not doing it for IMF, from where I sit, and with the minister’s leadership, this is what we have to do for Ghana. I hope that getting this leeway, actually allows us to regroup, to be able to come up with some of the policies, measures, to have a solid economy.”

He mentioned that the details of the official documents will be released shortly.

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