The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it is optimistic about the swift approval of Ghana's bailout programme by its Executive Board.
Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the IMF, stated that creditors have been meeting to agree on financing assurances for Ghana, which is the last prior action needed for board considerations.
“I am optimistic that we are going to move swiftly,” said Georgieva, in response to a question about the progress made so far on Ghana's bailout request at the sidelines of the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.
According to reports, a deal is expected to be reached in early May, as China, Ghana's largest bilateral lender, has agreed to drop its demand for multilateral development banks including the IMF and World Bank to share losses alongside other creditors in sovereign debt restructurings.
The IMF has been pushing bilateral creditors to accelerate creditor talks to help Ghana restore its economy as the West African nation faces its worst economic crisis in decades.