Cassiel Ato Forson – Finance Minister
A structural benchmark under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, has limited the country’s borrowing to $250 million in external loans—including commercial loans—in 2025.
The borrowing cap formed part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the country and its Official Creditor Committee (OCC) and it is to allow the Fund to monitor and assess the country’s compliance annually.
The MOU, signed by all participating creditor countries, paves the way for bilateral agreements to enforce the $250 million disbursement limit.
The limit is part of Ghana’s broader debt restructuring efforts following its 2022 suspension of external debt servicing.
It also coincides with the country’s ongoing Eurobond restructuring, where the government is swapping $13.1 billion in outstanding Eurobonds for new notes.
With the borrowing ceiling in place, the Ministry of Finance is working with bilateral creditors to prioritise funding for ongoing projects. Meanwhile, government agencies have been instructed to exclude externally funded capital expenditure (CAPEX) from their 2025 budgets until the Ministry finalises its project priority list.
The cap poses a challenge for the new government, which campaigned on ambitious infrastructure promises while managing substantial restructured debt obligations. With Ghana’s local bond market still recovering from the domestic debt exchange, treasury bills remain the government’s main financing option—but elevated interest rates continue to weigh on public finances.
A Business Desk Report