Ghana - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

By JORGELINA DO ROSARIO and MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

IMF board to review Ghana $600 mln loan payout on Friday

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board is due to meet to consider the first review of Ghana's $3 billion rescue loan programme, a spokesperson said by email. Board sign-off of the review would unlock a $600 million disbursement. Such approvals are usually seen as a formality once a meeting date has been agreed. Reuters earlier reported the meeting date, according to three sources familiar with the matter, after the cocoa, gold and oil-producing country reached an agreement to restructure $5.4 billion of official creditor debt. Ghana struck the deal with its bilateral lenders, including China and France, late last week, a…

Jan

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA and JORGELINA DO ROSARIO

Ghana official creditors agree on restructuring date, key step to deal – sources

BUSINESS

GHANA'S official creditors have agreed to restructure debts that were extended to the country up until December 2022, two sources told Reuters, with Accra closing in on a key step required to advance its restructuring. A deal between Ghana and its official creditors would pave the way for the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve the disbursement of $600 million under its $3 billion bailout programme. Discussions over the "cut-off date" - the date after which new loans signed with bilateral creditors will not be restructured - had recently emerged as a stumbling block to an…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

IMF ‘optimistic’ Ghana will reach official creditor debt deal soon

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund said that it was "optimistic" that Ghana and its official bilateral creditors would reach a debt restructuring deal soon, paving the way for another $600 million IMF loan payment to the country. Discussions between Ghanaian authorities and the Official Creditor Committee, co-chaired by China and France, are showing "promising progress", the IMF's Resident Representative for Ghana, Leandro Medina, said. "We are optimistic that an agreement will be reached soon, allowing to swiftly present the first ECF (Extended Credit Facility) programme review to our Executive Board," he said via email. The West African nation defaulted on most…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Ghana’s Partey and Lamptey miss out on Cup of Nations finals

AFCON 2023

GHANA left out injured Premier League players Thomas Partey and Tariq Lamptey from their 27-man squad named for the African Cup of Nations finals in neighbouring Ivory Coast, which kicks off later this month. Partey’s omission comes as Ghana coach Chris Hughton said he had been given more time to recover from a hamstring injury. “Withstanding his injury, he certainly would be in the squad. We know the quality of the player that he is. This is a player that has a substantial injury,” Hughton told a press conference on Monday. “I’ve spent a lot over this period of time…

Dec

2023

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA and CHRISTIAN AKORLIE

Ghana’s economic growth slows to 2.0% in third quarter

BUSINESS

GHANA'S economic growth slowed to 2.0% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023 from 3.2% in the previous quarter, driven by a decline in the industrial sector, its statistics agency said. The West African country is grappling with its worst economic crisis in a generation, with a sharply weaker cedi currency and double-digit price rises for consumers. Contributing to the third-quarter slowdown were contractions in sub-sectors of industry such as mining and construction, the statistics agency said. Agriculture made a positive contribution, even though cocoa farming is having an unusually bad season. Meanwhile, producer inflation slowed to 2.0% year-on-year in November from…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana wants to restrict imports of 22 products – an economist explains how, why and what else must be done

BUSINESS

GHANA’S Ministry of Trade and Industry has tabled in parliament a proposed ban or restrictions on imports of certain goods, including rice, sugar, poultry, fruit juices and animal intestines (tripe). The proposed legislation empowers the trade minister to issue licences to potential importers of goods. Critics of the policy say it will give too much power to the minister and create room for corruption. The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo spoke to development economist Adu Owusu Sarkodie about the policy. ADU OWUSU SARKODIE, Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Ghana What are import restrictions? These refer to the various schemes,…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana’s Sunon Asogli suspends power supply over unpaid government debt

BUSINESS

GHANAIAN independent power producer Sunon Asogli indefinitely suspended operations at its 560 MW gas-fired power plant, citing unpaid government debt and what it called unproductive engagements to find a solution. "This is our last resort. The accumulating unpaid bills have significantly impacted our operational capacities, making it unsustainable to continue without addressing these financial challenges," it said in a statement. The state-run Electricity Company of Ghana did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government has been seeking a debt deal with independent power producers (IPP) as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in a generation, characterised by double-digit inflation and…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana’s shea industry is not taking care of the women behind its growth

BUSINESS

GHANA'S shea industry has a rich history. Shea – nkuto, karite, galam in some West African languages – is deeply embedded in the culture and tradition of the country’s northern regions. It is often considered a woman’s crop – women pick the fruit and extract its “butter” – and has acquired the name “woman’s gold” because rural women earn income from its sale. ABIBA YAYAH, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Calgary The crop is not just locally important, though. Shea butter, derived from the nuts of the shea tree, has become a global commodity. It is used widely as an ingredient…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana: Akosombo Dam disaster reveals a history of negligence that continues to this day

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

RECENT heavy downpours in the Lower Volta area of Ghana led to the worst flooding in the region’s history. The flooding was caused by a spillage (a deliberate release of water) from the Akosombo Dam, the country’s biggest hydroelectric dam. Over 26,000 people were displaced. No deaths have been officially announced. The last recorded spillage was in 2010. STEPHAN MIESCHER, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara The Volta River Authority, the state agency that manages the Akosombo Dam, opened the floodgates to release pressure on the dam after unusually high rainfall. By September, Volta Lake, the vast, 400km-long…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

African Development Bank approves $102.6 mln support programme for Ghana

BUSINESS

THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $102.6 million budget support programme for Ghana focused on fiscal consolidation and economic recovery, the bank and Ghana's finance ministry said on Thursday. Ghana, which produces gold, cocoa and oil, is in talks with bilateral and commercial creditors to restructure its debts amid its worst economic crisis in a generation. The West African nation has been locked out of international capital markets as it struggles with spiralling domestic debt costs. "The program will facilitate the government's economic recovery reforms through enhanced public finance, increased productivity, and job creation," AfDB's representative, Eyerusalem Fasika,…