The report that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ghana are expected to reach a staff-level agreement on a loan deal by Tuesday at the latest is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ghana are expected to reach a staff-level agreement on a loan deal by Tuesday at the latest, said three sources with knowledge of the ongoing talks.
The IMF did not immediately respond to a request for com¬ment. A spokesperson for Ghana’s finance ministry said they cannot comment beyond that the negotiations were ongoing.
Two sources said that the IMF programme was expected to be an extended credit facility, which provides financial assistance to countries.
One of those sources and a third source said that major hurdles in the negotiations were overcome this week which sped up the process.
Ghana turned to the IMF for help in July, and an IMF team is currently in the country until Tuesday.
The Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta has said he is hoping for a relief package of up to $3 billion, possibly over a three-year period, as the West African country faces its worst economic crisis in a generation.
The cocoa, gold, and oil-producing West African nation has said it needs the deal by the end of the year.
The government has begun restructuring its debt this week by rolling out a plan to swap $10.5 billion in local bonds with new ones, but has not yet announced plans for a foreign debt restructuring
One source close to the matter said that the conditions for an external debt restructuring were the final hurdle and that an agreement was expected to be reached on Friday.
The newspaper says that President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called on Ghanaians to refrain from engaging in actions that will undermine the nation’s peace and unity.
He explained that peace and unity were invaluable prerequisite to achieving sustainable development, saying, “We as citizens are all accountable for the good or bad in our country. An individual action can change a life but collaborative efforts have a positive impact on a nation”.
He further underscored the need for Ghanaians to uphold the constitution, respect the country’s symbols, traditions and heritage, acknowledge the sentiment of fellow countrymen and contribute constructively to the growth and wellbeing of the nation.
President Akufo-Addo made the call at the opening of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) in Cape Coast.
One of the flagship events of the National Commission on Culture, NAFAC, was established in 1961 by the late Dr Alexander Atta Yaw Kyerematen, the founder and first director of the Ghana Cultural Centre, now Centre for National Culture in Kumasi.
This year’s event which also marks the 60th anniversary of NAFAC is on the theme: “Reviving patriotism, peace and unity through cultural diversity for sustainable development.”
The week-long event would witness variety of the nation’s rich culture including cuisines from the 16 regions, music and dance, among others.
All the 16 regions are taking part in the festival.
President Akufo-Addo further asked Ghanaians to work towards patriotism, peace and unity and that, the nation’s cultural values such as honesty, and truthfulness, respect for the elderly, hard work, decency in labour as stipulated in the country’s Cul¬tural Policy were key in the nation’s transformation.
“Transformation of any society lies in the character of its people,” he stated.
The Graphic reports that the Ghana Cedi last week posted the world’s biggest gain against the US Dollar as Ghana starts reorganising local debt, according to Bloomberg reports.
It said the Ghana cedi took the title of the world’s best performer against the dollar last week amid optimism the country was moving closer to unlocking an International Monetary Fund bailout.
“The cedi has rallied 10 percent in the past five days, the biggest advance among about 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. That’s a turnaround for an exchange rate that had lost half of its value this year and occupied the bottom slot in the charts,” the report stated.
The gains came even as Ghana put its local-currency sovereign bonds in what Fitch Ratings described as a “default-like process,” and the holders of its dollar bonds braced for capital losses. The restructuring is needed to put Ghana’s debt on a sustainable path and secure a $3 billion IMF loan.
“The currency was the cheapest in Africa, more than 30% undervalued versus its 25-year history last week, so some rebound after the huge fall recently isn’t that surprising,” said Charles Robertson, the global chief economist at Renaissance Capital Ltd. in London. “Also we have the IMF in town, which should pave the way for dollar support,” it added.
The newspaper says that the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has appealed to its members to adjust the prices of their goods and services following an appreciation of the cedis.
GUTA says its observation of the cedis in the last few days reveals the stability of the currency.
The appreciation of the cedis against the dollar has led to an astrological increase in the prices of goods and services.
Speaking on an Accra-based radio station and monitored by Graphic Online on Monday, December 12, 2022, the vice chair of GUTA, Mr. Clement Boating called on traders to reduce the prices of the goods while asking the government to work in ensuring a stronger currency.
“About two months ago we all saw the way and manner the cedis was depreciating … it wasn’t even on daily basis but hourly bases and we all saw why trading community tried to adjust prices to reflect the trend of the depreciation of the cedi and there was a whole of talks about how prices were escalated
We think for some time now the cedis has seen some stability even though expected it to appreciate further, and we think it is incumbent on us as an association to try as much as possible to advise our members to adjust their prices a bit to reflect the current stability of the cedis”
GIK/APA