The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has expressed confidence that Ghana will close a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before he presents the budget statement for the 2023 fiscal year in Parliament in November.
He said the two sides, the Ghana team and the IMF Mission, are working 27/4 to ensure that the process moves faster.
He further indicated the team from the Ministry of Finance that is currently in the United States will be staying beyond the period for the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings with African Finance Ministers, to enable them conclude discussions and negotiations.
Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that is to give the team enough time to be able to come to some fair decisions on the outlook.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TV3’s Sani Abdul-Rahman, on the sidelines of the meeting with African Finance Minsters with the G7 as part of the ongoing World Bank/IMF Meetings in Washington D.C. Mr Ofori-Atta expressed confidence that the negotiations will be sealed before the announcement of the 2023 budget statement.
He said “We still are working through and as you know we are staying beyond the Fund, the World Bank meetings through, maybe, the 20th, so we will continue with the Mission and the work. We pray that that may give us enough time to be able to come to some fair decisions on the outlook.
“I can tell you that the Fund staff is very motivated , which is good and we are 24/7, so the combination of their own enthusiasm, our clarity on the work that has been done to fulfill the President’s promise. If you look at the turn out of discussion for this annual meeting clearly, the world is recognizing that something different has to be done.”
“We areconfident,” he stressed.
Earlier, Mr Ofori-Atta assured at a press briefing on Wednesday, September 28 the fast-track negotiations with the IMF to ensure key aspects of the programme are reflected in the 2023 budget statement.
“In line with the President’s dialogue with the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, negotiations will be fast-tracked to ensure that key aspects of the programme are reflected in the 2023 Annual Budget Statement in November 2022,” he said.
