IMF bailout for Ghana likely to come in November

Ghana is likely to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a possible bailout programme by November this year.

This is what Joy Business has gathered from credible sources close to the Washington-based lender.

The sources say the Bretton Woods institution has already sent to government an advanced list of requirements it would be looking out for during negotiations.

The requirements – referred to as the ground data – would likely include Ghana's revenue and expenditure numbers as well as the country's growth rate.

These figures, according to analysts will influence any program that the IMF would recommend to government.  

An IMF mission is however expected in the country by15th of this month to begin discussions on September 16 with government, President John revealed last week in an interview with Reuters.

Former Finance Minister Professor Kwesi Botchwey is expected to lead Ghana's team to negotiate with the IMF.  

After the negotiations, the IMF board is expected to meet in Washington in October and decide on the programme for Ghana and how the disbursement would be done – that is if the programme comes along with a financial package.     

Government announced in August it would seek an IMF intervention to tackle fiscal problems including inflation, an unyielding budget deficit and a depreciating currency.

Ghana has previously been a model for the West African sub-region because it sustained high rates of economic growth on the back gold, oil and cocoa exports and a track record of stable democracy.