The Bank of Ghana has received the initial installment of $600 million from the $3 billion International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

The funds, which arrived on Friday, May 19, 2023, were confirmed by Ghana's Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a tweet.

He stated that the money would be utilized for balance of payment and budget support, as well as to stabilize the foreign exchange rate and potentially reduce inflation.

Furthermore, Ghana is anticipating the disbursement of another tranche of funds by June 2023. In June, an IMF Mission is scheduled to visit Ghana to assess the country's program considerations.

Another evaluation is expected towards the end of 2023, likely in December, prior to the final disbursement.

All the funds will be directly deposited into the Bank of Ghana's account to support Ghana's balance of payments requirements.

Over a period of three years, Ghana is set to receive approximately $3 billion as part of the IMF program.

Last week, Ghana received the necessary financing assurance from Ghana's Creditors Committee, including China, under the G20 Common Framework.

This followed a statement by the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, who affirmed that Ghana would obtain the financing assurance through the G20 Common Framework.

Ms. Georgieva also expressed her support for the Official Creditor Committee's call for private creditors and other official bilateral creditors to commit to comparable debt treatments. This decision is expected to facilitate Ghana in accessing crucial financing from its development partners.

@thebankofghana informs me that the first tranche of $600 million of Ghana’s low interest $3billion ECF facility has been received. These funds will be used for BOP & budget support and will also help stabilise the FX rate & trigger a cascading effect on inflation #GhanaRising

— Office of the Finance Minister-Ghana (@oofmghana) May 19, 2023