Help us get the $3bn IMF bailout else Ghana will collapse  – Akufo Addo begs diplomats

Ghana’s president, Akufo Addo has asked the diplomatic community to back his country’s request for a $3 billion rescue from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

On Tuesday, the President spoke to members of the Diplomatic Corps at the Peduase Lodge, where he expressed his optimism that the IMF agreement would be finalized by the month’s end thanks to the assistance of the Paris Club.

“Just as we managed to achieve a staff-level agreement with the Fund in record time in December last year whose terms were systematically fulfilling including the difficult but ultimately highly successful process of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, I am confident that with the cooperation we have received from the members of the Paris Club and the People’s Republic of China, which sent a delegation from China’s EXIM Bank to Accra over the weekend to meet with officials of the Ministry of Finance, we shall be able to go to the Board of the Fund to conclude finally the agreement by the end of March,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo added “this will set the stage for the strong recovery of Ghana’s economy. Needless to say, we will hope that all Ghana’s friends will weigh in with words of support at the Fund.”

READ ALSO: Akufo Addo was on track till COVID, Russia-Ukraine war destroyed things – IMF boss

Although a staff-level agreement (SLA) has been made between the IMF and Ghana, board approval is still required.

German Ambassador to Ghana Daniel Krull has warned that unless China agrees to a debt relief plan, the requested $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund is in jeopardy of being rejected.

“We are ready to take our part when others are ready to do that, so all major creditors must be ready to help Ghana. The Big elephant in the room is China. China is the largest creditor to Ghana and so far [China] is not supportive of setting up.