The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, is leading Ghana’s delegation to the 2025 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C which started on Monday.
“Our mission here is clear. We are here to tell Ghana’s reset story, a story of hard choices, bold reforms, and a firm commitment to rebuilding our economy in a way that is fair, sustainable, and inclusive,” the Minister said in a post on X on Monday.
“Throughout this week, I will be participating in a number of important meetings. These include engagements on the global economy, job creation, energy access, and food security,” he said.
He said “I will also be holding discussions with development partners, private investors, and international financial institutions.”
One of the key highlights of the trip, the Minister said would be a meeting with the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva.
“We will discuss Ghana’s progress, our reform agenda, and how the IMF can continue to support our vision for a stronger and more resilient economy,” he said.
Dr Forson said “I will also be meeting with representatives from the Paris Club, credit rating agencies, the U.S. Treasury, and several others. In every engagement, I will be presenting our case clearly: Ghana is taking responsibility, acting boldly, and staying the course.”
Ghana secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF on the fourth review of our ongoing programme last week.
The agreement, when approved by the Board, will unlock approximately 370 million dollars to support our economic recovery.
Dr Forson said “What is especially important to note is that this progress was achieved despite several structural benchmarks and quantitative targets being missed before we assumed office.
The achievements he said was a testament to the tireless work that the new administration had put in over the last few months to reverse the fiscal slippages we inherited.
“We took bold steps, some ahead of schedule, to stabilise the situation,” he said.
He said “One of our immediate priorities has been to address the large build-up of payables in 2024, which resulted in a primary deficit much larger than what had been programmed. We have acted decisively to fix this.”
“We have commissioned the Auditor-General and other oversight bodies to audit all outstanding payables and commitments,” he said.
This process, Dr Forson said would help us determine their legitimacy and recommend the necessary corrective actions.
The audit he said would be completed in eight weeks.
BY TIMES REPORTER
