The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed a three‑month extension of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme to provide additional time for reforms needed to complete the sixth and final review. The Fund noted that the extension is essential to ensure the effective implementation of policy measures underpinning the programme’s conclusion. This proposal was outlined in the IMF Staff Report following the Executive Board’s approval of Ghana’s fifth programme review.
If adopted, the extension would move the end date of Ghana’s ECF arrangement from May 2026 to August 2026. The report further explained that “extending the programme through August 16, 2026, would facilitate agreement on the policies required for the sixth review, while allowing adequate time to prepare and circulate Board documents.”
Beyond the extension, the IMF is also proposing adjustments to Ghana’s programme framework, including revisions to the Indicative Targets (ITs) and the Monetary Policy Consultation Clause (MPCC). The Fund noted that by the end of March 2026, the primary balance and non-oil revenue indicative targets will be revised to reflect prevailing macroeconomic conditions, while preserving the overall fiscal effort relative to gross domestic product.
In addition, the MPCC bands for December 2025 and March 2026 are expected to be revised downward to better capture the effects of recent macroeconomic developments on projected disinflation trends. Ghana’s 36-month ECF arrangement was approved by the IMF Executive Board in May 2023, providing access equivalent to 303.8 per cent of quota, amounting to SDR 2.2419 billion, or about three billion US dollars.
So far, Ghana has received approximately 2.8 billion dollars following the successful completion of the fifth programme review. The IMF assessed programme implementation as broadly satisfactory, noting that all end-June 2025 performance criteria and indicative targets were met.
The Fund reported that three prior actions were completed ahead of the fifth review: the audit of 2024 payables, the clean‑up of taxpayer registry and ledger data, and the submission of the 2026 budget to Parliament in line with programme objectives. It also noted progress on structural benchmarks that had been missed during the fourth review. Specifically, the strategy for state‑owned banks—initially scheduled for April 2024—was implemented in September 2025.
In addition, the IMF commended the authorities for advancing the operationalisation of indicative targets, which have been rephased into three stages. The first stage focuses on key aspects of the previously missed structural benchmarks and has been reset as a new end‑March 2026 structural benchmark.
Source: Emmanuel Oppong
