Ghana: Request for an Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ghana

This paper highlights Ghana’s Request for an Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The authorities’ economic program, supported by the ECF-arrangement, builds on the government’s post-coronavirus disease 2019 Program for Economic Growth, which aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability and includes wide-ranging reforms to build resilience and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth. Securing timely debt restructuring agreements with external creditors will be essential for the successful implementation of the new ECF arrangement. Key policies under the authorities’ program include large and frontloaded fiscal consolidation to bring public finances back on a sustainable path, complemented by efforts to protect the vulnerable. The adjustment effort will be supported by ambitious structural reforms in the areas of tax policy, revenue administration, and public financial management, as well as steps to address weaknesses in the energy and cocoa sectors. An ambitious structural reform agenda is being put in place to reinvigorate private sector-led growth by improving the business environment, governance, and productivity.