The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is proposing a three-month extension of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme to allow additional time for reforms required to complete the sixth and final programme review.
According to the Fund, the proposed extension is necessary to support the implementation of policy measures underpinning the final review of the programme.
The proposal was disclosed in the IMF Staff Report issued after the Fund’s Executive Board approved Ghana’s fifth programme review. If endorsed, the extension will shift the end date of Ghana’s ECF arrangement from May 2026 to August 2026.
In the report, the IMF explained that “the extension through August 16, 2026, would help reach an understanding on the policies supporting completion of the 6th review, while allowing sufficient time to prepare and circulate Board documents.”
Beyond the extension, the IMF is also proposing adjustments to Ghana’s programme framework, including revisions to the Indicative Targets (ITs) and the Monetary Policy Consultation Clause (MPCC).
The Fund noted that by the end of March 2026, the primary balance and non-oil revenue indicative targets will be revised to reflect prevailing macroeconomic conditions, while preserving the overall fiscal effort relative to gross domestic product.
In addition, the MPCC bands for December 2025 and March 2026 are expected to be revised downward to better capture the effects of recent macroeconomic developments on projected disinflation trends.
Ghana’s 36-month ECF arrangement was approved by the IMF Executive Board in May 2023, providing access equivalent to 303.8 per cent of quota, amounting to SDR 2.2419 billion, or about three billion US dollars.
So far, Ghana has received approximately 2.8 billion dollars following the successful completion of the fifth programme review.
The IMF assessed programme implementation as broadly satisfactory, noting that all end-June 2025 performance criteria and indicative targets were met.
The Fund further disclosed that three prior actions were completed ahead of the fifth review, including the audit of 2024 payables, the clean-up of taxpayer registry and ledger data, and the submission of the 2026 budget to Parliament in line with programme objectives.
Progress has also been recorded on previously missed structural benchmarks from the fourth review. According to the IMF, the strategy for state-owned banks—originally due in April 2024—was implemented in September 2025.
The Fund additionally commended the authorities for progress in operationalising indicative targets, which have been rephased in three stages. The first phase addresses key elements of the previously missed structural benchmarks and has been reset as a new end-March 2026 structural benchmark.
