Ghana receives $ 1 billion from IMF to boost economy

Ghana has received the equivalent of US $ 1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This is the country’s share of the new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to boost the post-Covid economic recovery of member countries.

A statement released Friday by the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Finance said “the government is grateful to the IMF for this historic advocacy and allocation of SDRs.”

“It provides additional political space to support Ghana’s efforts to counter the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods. It will support the GHS 100 billion Ghana Cares (Obaatanpa) post-pandemic recovery program, ”the statement said.

This SDR allocation responds to a global call to action following the devastating effects of the pandemic.
For example, on August 2, 2021, the IMF Governing Council approved a general allocation of SDRs equivalent to $ 650 billion.

Of this amount, approximately $ 33.7 billion is earmarked for African countries, to boost global liquidity and economic recovery from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods .

The new SDR allocation, which came into effect on August 23, 2021, will increase the additional financing needs of countries, especially low-income countries, caused by the impact of the pandemic on public finances.

AfDB estimates that African governments need additional funding of around US $ 484.6 billion over the next three years to close the funding gap and emerge from the Covid-19 crisis stronger and more resilient .

According to the IMF, the SDR allocation will benefit all members, meet long-term global reserve needs, build confidence, and promote resilience and stability in the global economy.

The Special Drawing Right (SDR) is an international interest-bearing reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement the official reserves of member countries. General SDR allocations are distributed among IMF members in proportion to their IMF quota.

According to the statement, the finance ministry will ensure that all legal requirements are met in the use of the SDR.