Ghana has received a draft term sheet on debt relief from its official creditors that is sufficient for the International Monetary Fund to disburse $600 million to the West African nation, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said.
The term sheet from the Paris Club Group of creditors and new ones including China comes after months of negotiations to restructure as much as $5.4 billion of bilateral debt. The IMF board is expected to meet in a week.
Ghana started restructuring most of its public debt in December 2022 to qualify for a $3 billion extended credit facility program with the IMF.
The country received an upfront disbursement of $600 million when it agreed to the program in May. Further releases, however, depend on meeting debt-rework and other performance targets.
Discussions between Ghana and the official creditor committee are ongoing, and good progress is being made, IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack told reporters Thursday, adding that the fund is confident an agreement can be reached soon.
Public debt — excluding loans to state-owned enterprises — eased to 66.4% of gross domestic product at the end of September, helped by the completion of a domestic debt reorganization
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites) / Ahotoronline.com
