The government has finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) concerning the debt treatment agreed upon in January 2024.
China and France, co-chairs of Ghana’s OCC, were instrumental in this accomplishment.
The MoU solidifies the preliminary agreement made with Official Creditors in January and represents a significant step towards achieving long-term debt sustainability for Ghana.
The financial terms of the agreement are unchanged, offering substantial debt service relief throughout the Fund-supported program period. This will enable financial resources to be allocated to essential sectors like infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
The formalization of the OCC agreement is anticipated to clear the path for the IMF Executive Board to approve the second review of the Fund-supported Post Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).
This approval will enable the release of the next tranche of IMF financing, totaling US$360 million. Additionally, the IMF Board’s approval is expected to unlock further financial assistance from development partners, notably the World Bank.
The agreement will also bolster ongoing negotiations with private creditors, with whom Ghana is dedicated to securing a comparable deal as quickly as possible.
Each official creditor will now proceed with its internal processes to sign the MoU. Once signed, the agreed terms will be executed through bilateral agreements with each OCC member.
“We call upon our official creditors to fast-track their internal processes towards the signing of the bilateral agreements. Ghana continues to engage in good faith with all commercial external creditors, striving to finalize restructuring agreements that respect Ghana’s need for debt relief and the comparability of treatment principle.”
“Ghana also reiterates its firm commitment to remain in arrears with its external commercial creditors until agreements compatible with the comparability of treatment principle are reached”, Minister for Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam mentioned in a statement issued by the Ministry.
“The Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Republic of Ghana extends our gratitude to all members of the OCC, particularly the committee’s co-chairs, China and France, for their unwavering commitment to assisting our country in resolving its debt issues.
“This landmark agreement marks an extraordinary milestone in Ghana’s debt restructuring journey and will further strengthen our ambitious reform agenda with the strong support of our development partners”, the statement concluded.
