Ghana Ranks Number One For Most Indebted African Country to the International Monetary Fund

Ghana Ranks Number One For Most Indebted African Country to the International Monetary Fund

  • Ghana is currently the African country with the most debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • According to the IMF's Quarter Financial report on loans for the end of January 2023, Ghana currently owes about $1.70 billion
  • Ghana is followed by DR Congo in second place and Kenya in third place in terms of African countries with the most debts to the IMF

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It has emerged that Ghana is currently the African country with the most debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

IMF’s quarterly financial report for January 31, 2023, shows that Ghana’s outstanding loans to the Fund stand at 1.278 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR), which translates into $1.708 billion in real money.

So far, Ghana has been able to pay back SDR 53 million, equivalent to $75.7 million to the IMF from the total of $1.708 billion.

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Ghana has the most debts to the IMF in Africa.
L-R: A creative image depicting Ghana's debt and the IMF crest. Source: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

Africa has a total outstanding loan of SDR 16.15 billion equivalent to about $21.5 billion to the Bretton Wood institution as of January 31, 2023.

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Following Ghana closely is the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

DR Congo is indebted to the IMF to the tune of SDR 1.142 billion, while Kenya’s debt is SDR 1.015 billion.

1SDR is equivalent to $1.33.

Despite Ghana's poor debt profile with the IMF, the country is still seeking $3 billion from the IMF to improve the balance of trade and restore confidence in the crisis-hit economy.

Finance expert projects grim outlook for Ghana in 2023

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a separate story that an experienced finance analyst has said Ghana could face worse economic times in 2023 despite assurances by the government that things will get better.

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Haruna Alhassan with the Centre for Social Justice has said international and domestic factors all point to a tough 2023 for Ghana.

Alhassan said the domestic debt exchange programme, for instance, would adversely affect firms and result in job losses; also food inflation will persist in 2023.

Akufo-Addo finally admits Ghana is in an economic crisis

Also, YEN.com.gh reported that Akufo-Addo finally admitted in October last year that the country was going through an economic crisis that has made life unbearable.

In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, October 30, 2022, the President announced several measures being introduced to fix the economy.

He also expressed optimism that the measures would yield fruits and added that the economic crisis would soon be over.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
George Nyavor avatar

George Nyavor (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) George Nyavor writes for YEN.com.gh. He has been Head of the Politics and Current Affairs Desk since 2022. George has over 9 years of experience in managing media and communications (Myjoyonline and GhanaWeb). George is a member of the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners Ghana (CAMP-G). He obtained a BA in Communications Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2010. Reach out to him via george.nyavor@yen.com.gh.