Government has reached an agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Official Creditor Committee (OCC), co-chaired by China and France, to restructure approximately $5.4 billion of external debt.
“The MoU formalises the agreement in principle reached with Official Creditors in January and marks a crucial step towards Ghana restoring long-term debt sustainability,” the Ministry of Finance stated.
Each creditor nation is now expected to sign the agreement individually.
The Ministry added that this would bolster ongoing restructuring discussions with private creditors.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, the financial terms of the agreement remain unchanged and are expected to provide significant debt service relief during the Fund-supported program period.
The Ministry indicated that this development is anticipated to pave the way for the approval of the second review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board and the subsequent disbursement of a $360 million third tranche for the country.
This disbursement is part of the $3 billion Extended Credit Facility for the country’s Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and resilience.
By signing the agreement, Ghana is expected to secure more financial resources, particularly from the World Bank, which will be directed towards critical areas such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
“The agreement will also bolster the current and ongoing discussions with private creditors, with whom Ghana remains committed to finding a comparable agreement as early as possible,” the statement noted.
“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,” Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of Finance, said.
He expressed the country’s gratitude to all members of the OCC, particularly the Committee’s co-chairs, China and France, for their unwavering commitment to assisting Ghana in resolving its debt issues.
