Press spotlights key global decision makers push for $3bn IMF bailout for Ghana, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that key decision makers in the global economy have thrown their weight behind Ghana’s quest for a quicker deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help ease the economic pains facing the country and its citizens is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that key decision makers in the global economy have thrown their weight behind Ghana’s quest for a quicker deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help ease the economic pains facing the country and its citizens.
The IMF, the World Bank Group and the United States (US) Treasury Department are some of the key actors behind the clarion call for all roadblocks delaying the final approval of Ghana’s request for an IMF bailout to be removed to enable the fund to authorise the actual implementation of the programme, latest within the second quarter of the year.
This came to light at the just-ended IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, USA, where Ghana also secured the support of private sector investors and key development partners for a quicker deal for an economic turnaround.
Ghana, which turned to the IMF for support to stabilise the economy in July last year, has since met all prior actions necessary for a final approval, with the IMF Executive Board now awaiting financial assurance from the country’s creditors to be able to sign off the deal.
At the meetings that ended yesterday, the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, and the IMF African Department Director, Abebe Aemro Selassie, assured Ghanaians that efforts to fast-track the process were underway but must be quickened.
The momentum from the leaders has boosted the government’s optimism that the country could soon secure the much-needed financial assurances, a mix of debt cancellation, restructuring and commitment of further strategic lending, soon to pave the way for a deal, latest by the second quarter of the year.
“We are expectant that this (financial assurance) will happen soon, as the Paris Club meets again this week on Ghana,” a source at the Ministry of Finance said at the Spring Meetings.
Earlier, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had described Ghana’s participation at the meetings as highly successful.
The newspaper says that telecom operators have been ordered by the National Communications Authority (NCA) to ensure that all disconnected subscriber identity modules (SIMs) comply with the March 31, 2023 deadline and are removed from SIM card registration databases.
The NCA has mandated that the SIMs that have been removed from the databases of various networks should be reflected in the Central SIM Register by Monday, April 17, 2023.
The directive clarifies previous orders from April 6, 2023, April 11, 2023, and March 20, 2023, stating that this should include SIMs that remain blocked in compliance with the Communication Minister’s directive on November 30, 2022.
Telecom operators have also been instructed to provide a written report to the NCA by Tuesday, April 18, 2023, stating the total number of disconnected SIMs.
The NCA has also ordered that all SIMs registered after the limit of ten (10) must be deactivated and removed from SIM registration databases.
These actions should be reflected in the Central SIM Register by Monday, April 17, 2023.
The NCA emphasized that failure to comply with these directives would violate Regulation 1 of the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011.
The NCA has called on telecom operators to cooperate as usual.
The Ghanaian Times reports that there are no plans by the government to conduct another round of Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) targeted at pension funds, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said.
Speaking during a virtual engagement with the country’s external creditors on the macroeconomic update on the economy on Thursday from Washington DC, monitored by the Ghanaian Times, he assured that government had not planned to carry out any second round of DDEP programme on pension funds.
His assurance was in reaction to media reports that the Ministry of Finance had assured Eurobond investors of another round of DDEP.
Mr Ofori-Atta said his statement was taken out of context when he provided explanation to the external creditors, saying it was a “misunderstanding.”
“Therefore, it is not correct to state that there will be second round of DDEP with Pension Funds. What we are doing is working with them on how they can further help government to reduce the debt servicing and ensure we maintain sort of the debt sustainability in the MoU agreement and so such discussions are continuing,” Mr Ofori-Atta stated.
The Finance Minister said per the MoU, the government and Organised Labour agreed that they would work together to explore mutually beneficial options with debt sustainability limits and to also promote macroeconomic stability and economic recovery in the spirit of social partnership.
Earlier in the engagement with the external creditors, Mr Ofori-Atta appealed to them to support the country’s debt restructuring exercise to help Ghana on the back of debt sustainability.
He said the objective of government was to bring Debt to Gross Domestic Ratio to 55 per cent in 2028 from the current figure estimated at more than 85 per cent.
The newspaper says that Access Holdings Plc has announced the completion of a $300 million capital investment into its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc, with Ghana as one of its leading strategic subsidiaries in Africa.
In a corporate disclosure, Access Holdings explained that the proceeds will supplement the capital needs of its African expansion strategy.
With continuous strive for presence in the key trade and payment corridors, Access Hold­ings noted that over the years, the bank had made significant strides towards attaining a strong market presence in key trade and pay­ment corridors across the African continent.
The statement, signed by the Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, noted that the invest­ment took the form of a Tier 1 capital qualifying a mandatory convertible instrument, and is expected to improve the bank’s shareholders’ fund and total ratios.
Commenting on the transac­tion, Dr Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive of Access Hold­ings, said that as a leading finan­cial institution on the continent, the Group remained foresighted in its approach to growth and capitalisation needs.
“This investment is a cap­stone initiative following the $500 million additional Tier 1 capital raised by the bank in 2021, and advances its vision to be the world’s most respected African bank. Further to this, Access Holdings benefits from this non-dilutive approach to raising growth capital as we continue to invest in initiatives geared towards delivering our vision of building a globally connect­ed community and ecosystem inspired by Africa for the world through disciplined growth and diversification,” he said.
GIK/APA