Ghana is seeking to restore policy credibility by asking the International Monetary Fund to help rescue its currency, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said.
The government’s plan to narrow the fiscal gap last year was too ambitious because of a shortfall in revenue, he said in an interview yesterday in Washington, where he is attending the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The IMF program will include support for balance of payments, he said.
“We believe strongly that we are putting the right mechanisms into place,” he said. “It is about the certainty of policy that comes with an IMF endorsement.”
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said last week his government will seek talks with the Washington-based fund to bring stability to an economy battered by the world’s worst performing currency in 2014.
Rising prices for gold and cocoa, steps to reduce debt-financing costs and cutting the state wage bill are already working and the government will see the benefits later this year as the IMF plan kicks in, Terkper said. Ghana is the world’s second-biggest producer of cocoa. The plan may be for two to three years and the government has yet to decide how much aid it will ask for, he said.
Bloomberg
